WEDNESDAY, March 28 (HealthDay News) -- Women surgically treated for human papillomavirus (HPV)-related disease who were previously vaccinated with the quadrivalent HPV vaccine have reduced incidence of subsequent HPV-related disease, according to a study published online March 27 in BMJ.
Elmar A. Joura, M.D., from the Medical University of Vienna, and colleagues retrospectively analyzed data from two international trials of quadrivalent HPV vaccine to determine its effect on the risk of developing subsequent disease after surgical treatment for HPV-related disease. A total of 17,622 women aged 15 to 26 years were randomly allocated to receive three doses of quadrivalent HPV vaccine or placebo; of these women, 2,054 subsequently underwent cervical surgery or were diagnosed with genital warts, vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia, or vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia.
The researchers found that 587 women who received the vaccine and 763 who received placebo underwent cervical surgery. The incidence of any subsequent HPV-related disease per 100 person-years was 6.6 in vaccine recipients and 12.2 in placebo recipients (46.2 percent reduction with vaccination). The risk of high-grade cervical disease was reduced significantly (64.9 percent) with vaccination. HPV-related disease was diagnosed in 229 vaccine recipients and 475 placebo recipients, with subsequent HPV-related disease incidence of 20.1 and 31.0 per 100 person-years, respectively, (35.2 percent reduction with vaccination).
"Our study confirms that vaccination does not reduce progression to disease in women who are infected with HPV at the time of vaccination, but women who were treated for disease in the context of these studies were at risk for developing subsequent disease, and vaccination offered substantial benefit," the authors write.
The study was funded by Merck, Sharpe, and Dohme; several authors disclosed financial ties to pharmaceutical companies, including Merck.
Full Text
Editorial (subscription or payment may be required)
