HPV Vaccination Program in Scotland Eradicates Cervical Cancer in Young Women, Study Finds

KOMPAS.com – Clear evidence of an HPV vaccination program was found in Scotland. The country no longer finds cases of cervical cancer in women born between 1988 – 1986 who have received the full dose of HPV vaccination.

Various previous studies have shown that the HPV vaccine is very effective in preventing cervical cancer.

However, the latest study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute is the first cohort study to monitor a number of women over a long-term period and concluded that it found no incidence of cervical cancer.

“The results of this study are very interesting. It shows that the vaccine is very effective,” said gynecological oncology professor Kathleen Schmelar, who was not involved in the study.

He said that the results of this study were just the beginning because this was the first data on the impact of the vaccination program, because it took a long time from the first time the vaccine was given to see the effect.

Also read: 2 Male Genital Diseases that Can Be Prevented with the HPV Vaccine

The results of this study also emphasize the importance of increasing HPV vaccine coverage.

In Scotland, for example, the government has implemented a routine immunization program in schools since 2008 and almost 90 percent of fourth grade students in the 2022-2023 school year have received at least one dose of vaccine.

This research also shows the importance of vaccination timing, namely for girls who are not yet sexually active.

Benefits of HPV vaccination before the age of 14 years

The study researchers monitored data on all women born between 1988-1996 in Scotland who were eligible for cancer screening. The number is around 450,000 people.

Of the total, 40,000 were vaccinated between the ages of 12-13 years and 124,000 received the vaccine after the age of 14 years. The remaining nearly 30,000 women were not vaccinated.

Also read: Advantages of the HPV DNA Test for Detecting Cervical Cancer

In the group of girls who were vaccinated before the age of 14, not a single one suffered from cervical cancer, even in those who only received one dose of the vaccine. It is recommended that the HPV vaccine be given in three doses.

In addition, women who received the full dose and were vaccinated at the age of 14-22 years also received significant benefits. Even though cases of cancer were found in this group, the incidence was 2.5 times lower than in the group that was not vaccinated.

In Indonesia, the Ministry of Health has also created a national HPV vaccination program for elementary school aged girls in grades 5 and 6 for free.

Cervical cancer cases are the second most common type of cancer found in women in Indonesia after breast cancer. Globocan data for 2021 recorded that there were 36,633 cases of cervical cancer in Indonesia with the death rate continuing to increase.

Also read: Get to know what HPV is, transmission, disease, and how to detect it

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2024-01-26 09:30:00
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