The Rio Grande Valley has the highest rate of cervical cancer in the country, according to a study by the University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine.

Valley researchers say diagnosis and death rates are 55 times higher than the national average.

Experts blame a lack of education and low HPV vaccination rates. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says long-lasting HPV infections can put women at risk for cervical cancer.

"Dietary habits, smoking and alcohol consumption, hygiene and early sexual debut, those are the type of things that contribute to all this," UTRGV South Texas Center of Excellence in Cancer Research Director Dr. Subhash Chauhan said.

The CDC recommends girls and boys between 11 and 12 get vaccinated against HPV.

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