Salvatore Di Nolfi / EPA
A mega study confirmed that the HPV vaccine significantly reduces the risk of cervical cancer for decades. Receiving it early is crucial.
In a new study, recently in The BMJa group of researchers from Karolinska Institutet (Sweden) analyzed long-term health data from girls and young women followed for nearly two decades and found that HPV vaccine significantly reduced the risk of cervical cancer.
Cervical cancer continues to be one of the most common cancers affecting women worldwide, despite being largely preventable. Important is also the fact that the protection does not appear to weaken over time.
The human papillomavirus (HPV) is, in turn, one of the most common viruses in the world. Most people will get it at some point in their lives, often without knowing it.
In many cases, the body eliminates the virus naturally. But some types of HPV can remain in the body for years and gradually damage cells. Over time, this can lead to cancer.
How the HPV vaccine prevents cancer
HPV causes almost all cervical cancer and can also lead to other cancers in both men and women, including breast cancer. throatdo anusdo penisyes vagina and from vulva.
Because these cancers typically develop slowly, often many years after infection, Preventing the virus early is the most effective way to stop them.
That’s exactly what the HPV vaccine was designed to do.
To understand how well the vaccine works in real life, the new study tracked 926,362 girls and young women in Sweden over 18 years in a national population study. Some had received the HPV vaccine, while others had not.
Over time, far fewer vaccinated people developed cervical cancer compared to those who had not been vaccinated. This shows that the vaccine helped protect many people from developing cervical cancer.
It was also discovered that the age at vaccination is important.
Girls who received the vaccine before age 17 were much less likely to develop cervical cancer later in life. In fact, your risk was about four times lower than that of girls who had not been vaccinated.
People vaccinated later still got some protection, but the benefit was smaller.
The reason is simple. The vaccine prevents HPV infection, but cannot eliminate an infection that has already occurred. Vaccinate early, ideally before exposure to the virus, allows the immune system to create protection in advance.
Long-lasting protection
A common question about vaccines is whether their protection wanes over time. The results of the new study are reassuring.
Participants were followed for up to 18 years after vaccination and no evidence was found that protection decreased over time.
Once protection was created by the vaccine, it continued to work year after year. Long-lasting protection means the vaccine can protect against the virus during the years when it matters most.
Many countries now recommend HPV vaccination for both girls and boys, usually in early adolescence. Vaccinating boys protects them against HPV-related cancers and also helps reduce the spread of the virus.
A future in which cancers caused by HPV are largely preventable could begin with a simple vaccine administered during adolescence.
