New study: HPV vaccine may prevent multiple cancer types

The human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine, Cervarix, not only has the potential to prevent cervical cancer but also other HPV-caused common cancer types, shows a multinational clinical trial, involving nearly 20,000 young women. That effectiveness endured for the study’s entire follow-up, of up to four years, the researchers noted. The vaccine was extremely effective in young women who had never been infected with HPV. It protected nearly all from HPV-16 and 18, and protected 50-100 percent against different grades of precancerous transformation of cervical cells caused by other strains of HPV. The study is the final report from the Papilloma Trial Against Cancer in Young Adults (PATRICIA), a multinational clinical trial, encompassing 14 countries in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, North America, and Latin America.

The study confirms that targeting young adolescent girls before sexual debut for prophylactic HPV vaccination has a substantial impact on the incidence of high grade cervical abnormalities.

Corresponding author Dan Apter, director of The Sexual Health Clinic at the Family Federation of Finland

Health HPV