With Covid-19 vaccines being at the forefront of people’s attention worldwide, we also can’t forget about other important vaccines.
A new study released this April 2021 shows that the Human Papillomavirus Virus (HPV) vaccination is so effective that we can eventually eradicate cervical cancer. The results are the first in the world that have been able to confirm the effect of HPV vaccination in relation to the incidence of cervical cancer.
Cervical cancer? It was something women got in the old days. This answer may become a reality in the future, experts say.
Previous studies have shown advantages to HPV vaccines. In this large Danish study, it was concluded that the HPV vaccine not only reduces the risk of pre-cancerous changes but that it can actually reduce the risk of getting cervical cancer completely by up to 86 per cent. This means that in the long run, you can completely wave goodbye to the disease.
Without HPV infections, there will be virtually no cervical cancers. The study included almost 900,000 women aged 17-30. 40 percent were vaccinated before the age of 17. This is the group that was found to have 86 percent protection. It went on to show that if you get the vaccine between 17 and 19 years of age, you are protected by 68 percent. When it came to women in their 20’s when they got vaccinated, the picture was less clear as there were only small numbers in this age group. However, that does not mean that the vaccine does not work for older women. What the study showed was that timing is important.
For the first time we have a vaccine against a cancer that can save a lot of people. That is fantastic!
In Canada and in Scandinavia, cervical cancer is one of the cancers we can prevent most effectively. The vaccine could save so many lives.
In a few years we will see a huge decrease of women dying of cervical cancer because of the vaccine.
Facts about HPV and cervical cancer:
- In addition to a vaccination, women are offered cervical cancer screening (PAP test) every 3 years depending on age.
- Cervical cancer is caused by a chronic infection with the HPV virus.
- HPV is sexually transmitted and is highly contagious, and most people become infected with HPV one or more times during their lifetime
- Both girls and boys are offered the vaccine
- In addition to cervical cancer, HPV is the cause of a number of other cancers including vaginal cancer and cancer of women’s external genitalia.
- In men, HPV can cause penile cancer, and can also be the cause of anal and mouth cancer on both sexes.
Please check out this link:
https://academic.oup.com/jnci/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jnci/djab080/6227603?login=true