AbstractAn archival survey of 98 cervical cancer specimens dating from the 1920s to the 1980s was undertaken to determine whether changes had occurred in the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA. HPV DNA was detected in paraffin sections of cancers fixed in 10% formalin by in situ hybridisation (ISH) using HPV 6, 11, 16, and 18 32P‐labelled DNA probes under conditions of high stringency; and by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using 20‐mer oligonucleotide primers to amplify 109 bases of the E6 region of HPV 16. In 30 instances results obtained from Southern blot hybridisations which had been carried out on specimens of fresh tissue from the same cancers collected during the 1980s were available for comparison. The rates of HPV DNA detection in cervical cancers ranged from 83% (by Southern or PCR) and 70% (by ISH) on specimens from the 1980s, to 50% and 63% (by ISH and PCR, respectively) on specimens from the 1920s. HPV 16 was by far the most common type, being identified by Southern or ISH i n approximately 92% of HPV DNA‐ positive specimens. No significant change in the prevalence of HPV DNA, or of HPV types, in cervical cancers was found over the 65 year period exa