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Can the HPV vaccine prevent more than cervical cancer? An epidemiologic perspective


In the UK, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women under 35 years [1]. HPV types 16 and 18 (both high risk) are essential precipitants in at least 70% of cervical cancers [2], but may contribute in excess of 80% of cervical cancers in Scotland [3]. Both the prophylactic bivalent (Cervarix) and quadrivalent (Gardasil) vaccines prevent infection with HPV types 16 and 18, and have been shown to induce avid and sustained neutralizing antibody responses which prevent cervical HPV 16 and 18 infection while conferring protection against consequent viral-induced cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) [4,5].

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