HPV Vaccine Lowers Risk of Cervical Dysplasia

Receiving the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine is associated with a reduced risk of high-grade cervical lesions, according to a recent study.

“It is pertinent to evaluate the impact of vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) in real life,” the researchers wrote.

They followed 2 cohorts of Danish women, including women born in 1993 and in 1983. Those born in 1993 were offered free HPV vaccination at age 15 years, while those born in 1983 were not.  The women were followed for 10 years.

Vaccination coverage among the 1993 cohort was 91%, compared with less than 0.1% in the 1983 cohort. Overall, high‐grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)2+ was found in 4% of the 15,748 women born in 1983 and 3% of the 19,951 born in 1993. A 30% reduction in the risk of high-grade CIN was observed in the 1993 cohort compared with the 1983 cohort.

“This study investigated the real‐life impact of quadrivalent HPV vaccination by comparing a cohort of women offered HPV vaccination with a cohort of women not offered HPV vaccination. The observed decrease in the detection of high‐grade cervical lesions following HPV vaccination is in line with results from the randomized trials and has important implications for future cervical screening of HPV vaccinated cohorts.”

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Thamsborg LH, Napolitano G, Larsen LG, Lynge E. High‐grade cervical lesions after vaccination against human papillomavirus: A Danish cohort study. Published online August 4, 2020. doi: 10.1111/aogs.13935