A clinical trial from the National Cancer Institute found that one dose of the HPV vaccine is as effective as two doses at preventing infection. Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infections have long been linked to cervical cancer in women and a range of cancers in men (anal, penile, and head/neck cancer). These findings could boost cancer prevention efforts across the world, particularly in less wealthy countries with lower access to the vaccine. Worldwide, 3 out of 4 children eligible for the vaccine don’t get it, largely because of lack of access. Every year, cervical cancer kills about 350,000 women.
In higher income countries such as the US, the vaccine has drastically reduced cases of cancer and and pre-cancerous lesions. In the United States, the vaccine resulted in an 80% reduction in pre-cancerous lesions. The decrease in pre-cancerous lesion diagnoses could be even greater if more people who should receive the vaccine actually got it. Currently, just 77% of people in the US who would benefit from the vaccine have been given at least one dose. The percentage of eligible Americans who have gotten two doses is even less: 54.2% as of 2019. The new study offers hope that most of individuals who received only one dose are in fact still protected against HPV-linked cancers.
The greatest benefits of the study’s findings will likely be seen in lower income countries, which face high barriers to administering two doses of the vaccine because of cost and the difficultly of giving two shots.
In the US, the HPV vaccine is recommended for all girls and boys between the ages of 11 and 12.
Full Story: STAT News
