The effects of the national HPV vaccination programme in England, UK, on cervical cancer and grade 3 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia incidence: a register-based observational study
Analysis of data from 13.7 million-years follow-up notes a substantial reduction in cervical cancer & incidence of grade 3 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN3) in young women after introduction of programme in England, especially in those offered vaccine at age 12–13 years.
Source:
The Lancet
SPS commentary:
The estimated relative reduction in cervical cancer rates by age at vaccine offer were 34% for age 16–18 years, 62% for age 14–16 years and 87% for age 12–13 years compared with the reference unvaccinated cohort. The corresponding risk reductions for CIN3 were 39%, 75% and 97%. It is estimated that by 30th June 2019, there had been 448 fewer than expected cervical cancers and 17,235 fewer than expected cases of CIN3 in vaccinated cohorts in England
According to a commentary, the relative reductions in cervical cancer, expected as a result of the HPV vaccination programme, support the anticipated vaccine effectiveness, but it notes that even in a wealthy country, such as England with free access to HPV immunisation, uptake has not reached the 90% vaccination target of girls aged 15 years set by WHO. It suggests that the scale of the HPV vaccination effect reported by this study should stimulate vaccination programmes in low-income and middle-income countries where the problem of cervical cancer is a far greater public health issue than in those with well established systems of vaccination and screening. It adds that the most important issue, besides the availability of the vaccine.