human papilloma virus (HPV)

The HPV vaccine has been amazingly successful in reducing cases of cervical cancer. Researchers in the UK recently reported that there are 87% fewer cervical cancers among women who were part of the first mass vaccination program against human papillomavirus (HPV), compared to women of previous generations. A vaccine success story!

Initially the vaccine Cervarix was administered in the HPV vaccination program, which started in 2008 in England. The Cervarix vaccine is effective against HPV 16 and 18, the strains which are responsible for 70% to 80% of all cervical cancers. In 2012 they switched to the HPV vaccine Gardasil, which is effective against two additional HPV types - HPV 6 and 11.

Researchers looked at the incidence of both cervical cancer and noninvasive cervical carcinoma (grade 3 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia or CIN3, which frequently progresses to cancer) in England between January 2006 and June 2019.

They found that girls who received the vaccine between 12 to 13 years of age had a cervical cancer rate 87% lower than expected in a nonvaccinated population, and the rate of noninvasive cervical carcinoma (CIN3) was 97% lower than expected. Those who were vaccinated between the ages of 14 and 16 years had a 62% reduction in cervical cancer and 75% for CIN3. Those vaccinated between the ages of 16 and 18 years had a 34% reduction in cervical cancer and 39% in CIN3.

The authors point out that this is still a developing story - that since the women are still relatively young, we don't know the full impact of the HPV vaccination on cervical cancer rates. But they expect it to be impressive over time.

Excerpts from Medscape: Success of HPV Vaccination: 'Dramatic' Reduction in Cervical Cancer

New data from England show the success of the national program for vaccinating girls against human papillomavirus (HPV) to prevent cervical cancer. ...continue reading "HPV Vaccine Success Story"

Are human papilloma viruses (HPV) causing some prostate cancers? And could getting the HPV vaccine help in preventing some cases of prostate cancer? Sure sounds like it according to a recent study published by Australian researchers.

The researchers reviewed 26 studies and came to the conclusion that while prostate cancer likely has many causes, it appears to also have an infectious viral cause - specifically certain human papilloma viruses (HPVs). They point out that HPV vaccines protect against the high risk HPV types 16 and 18, which cause the majority of cervical cancers, and also appear to be implicated in some prostate cancers.

From Medical Xpress: Potential causal role of human papilloma viruses (HPVs) in prostate cancers

Human papilloma viruses (HPVs) - a common group of viruses known to cause cervical cancers—may also have a causal role in prostate cancer, according to a literature review published in the open access journal Infectious Agents and Cancer, supporting the case for universal HPV vaccination.

James Lawson and Wendy Glenn, at the University of New South Wales, Australia reviewed results from 26 previous studies on HPVs and their links to prostate cancer. They assessed the existing evidence using a common set of nine causal criteria, including the strength and consistency with which HPVs were associated with prostate cancers and whether HPVs were detected in prostate tissues that later went on to develop cancer. ...continue reading "Prostate Cancer and Human Papilloma Viruses"