A large French study published on Monday concluded that vaccines against the human papillomavirus (HPV) significantly reduce the risk of cervical cancer, especially if taken at an early age, confirming available information on this subject.
The Cochrane study concluded that “the HPV vaccine potentially reduces the incidence of cervical cancer by 80% in people who receive the vaccine at the age of 16 or earlier.”
Cochrane is an organization that brings together a large number of researchers whose mission is to conduct studies aimed at establishing benchmarks for knowledge on a specific topic. The quality of these works enjoys broad consensus among the medical and scientific communities, despite some methodological criticism.
The benefits of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine are already widely known, as this sexually transmitted virus is responsible for a large number of diseases, the most important of which is cervical cancer.
Many countries are currently launching vaccination programs for adolescents, but they often face hesitation due to vaccine skepticism.
New reviews
In this context, the Cochrane Organization, which had previously conducted a study on this topic in the late 2000s, published two new reviews of the available scientific literature, after a large number of new studies were completed during that period.
The first review, which was based solely on clinical trials conducted by pharmaceutical companies, concluded that these vaccines are safe but ineffective against cervical cancer, given that the studies lack sufficient long-term follow-up.
On the other hand, the second review, which collected more than 200 studies conducted to measure the impact of vaccination campaigns, clearly concluded that the vaccine has a decisive effect in preventing the development of these cancers.
This effect is stronger when receiving the vaccine early: at a later age, a high rate of young people will have been exposed to the virus through sexual activity, which reduces the protective effect of the vaccine.
As for other types of cancer – which affect the reproductive organs – associated with the human papilloma virus, the vaccine appears to be effective against them, but the evidence is less good due to the rarity of these cases, which have been subject to fewer studies.
Like the first study, this study is also reassuring about side effects, as the researchers concluded that the HPV vaccine “is not associated with an increased risk of long-term side effects or infertility.”