That single injection can prevent cervical cancer —Experts

By Sade Oguntola

C ANCER is a subject of enormous complexity it is one many dread to talk about. Much more, Nigeria has one of the highest numbers of cervical cancer cases worldwide. And still, the cause of cervical cancer and a major culprit in the rise of the condition is a sexually transmitted disease; Human Papillomavirus or HPV.

In a new study, experts say that just one dose of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine will reduce the risk of developing  cervical cancer by more than a third. This is based on a study that looked at the impact of different numbers of doses of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in more than 130,000 women in the USA.

Nigeria’s Health Minister, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, at a virtual stakeholders forum on the elimination of Cervical Cancer in Nigeria stated that, the incidence of cervical cancer in Nigeria is about 33 per 100,000 and an estimated 14,089 are diagnosed every year, with eight out of every ten of them presenting at an advanced stage.

According to him; “with a total population of about 200 million people, Nigeria has about 40 million women aged 15 years and older who are at risk of developing cervical cancer.”

Experts’ consensus at the University College Hospital’s launch of the global strategy for the elimination of cervical cancer by the World Health Organisation (WHO) was that cervical cancer can be eliminated since it can be prevented by vaccination in those that are eligible and the disease also gives a warning of 10 to 15 years in those with the disease for it to be cured if detected early.

Dr Sesan Oluwasola, consultant obstetrics and gynaecologist, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State, said that two doses of human papillomavirus (HPV) were already recommended to prevent cervical cancer.”

HPV vaccination is recommended for both male and female, and women irrespective of their age can get vaccinated against the virus that causes cancer.

Basically, there are over 100 types of HPV, but only 40 will affect the genital tract. About 15 of these 40 types that affect the genital tract cause cancer.

Specifically, HPV types 16 and 18 account for about 80 per cent of cervical cancer cases. These HPV types can cause cancers of the penis in men as well. HPV can also cause cancers of the mouth, throat and anus in both men and women.

According to him, although studies had suggested that one dose of the vaccine still had some degrees of protection, what is still advised based on WHO’s recommendation is two doses of the human papillomavirus (HPV).

The expert stated that cervical cancer is the commonest cancer and makes up 60 to 70 per cent of all gynaecological cancers, attended to even at the UCH, Ibadan and as such the hospital also joined the WHO to launch the global strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer.

Dr Tosin Awolude, a consultant obstetric and gynaecologist, stated that for maximum benefits, HPV vaccination is recommended for girls that have never had sexual intercourse.

According to him, “in Nigeria, it is recommended for girls between the ages of nine and 14 years. This is based on Nigeria’s National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) data that the average age of sexual debut for girls is about 15 years.

“It is to be given before their first sexual intercourse because the vaccine does not cure the virus; it only prevents its acquisition. These vaccines are safe and effective. Aside common reactions people may experience with injections, such as pain at the injection point, adverse reactions to the vaccine are very rare.”

Meanwhile, this large study found that women who had one, two,  three or more doses of the HPV vaccine between the ages of 15 and 19 years old had similar reductions in their risk of developing pre-cancerous changes in the cervix over the next 5 years, compared with women who were not vaccinated.

The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch, Yale School of Medicine, and Baylor College of Medicine used data routinely collected to look at whether the number of doses of HPV vaccine a woman had was linked to her risk of developing pre-cancerous changes to her cervix.

The researchers identified 66,541 women aged nine to 26 years old, who had received at least  one dose of the HPV vaccine that protects against four different strains of HPV between 2006 and 2015 and had a smear test at least one year after their final dose. They matched each of these women with a similar woman who had not had the vaccine but did have a smear.

They then compared the results to see whether women who had different numbers of doses of the vaccination were less likely to have developed pre-cancerous changes to their cervix.

They matched each woman to a “control” – a woman in the database who had not been vaccinated but lived in the same region of the USA, was of a similar age, had a similar number of pregnancies and a similar history of sexually transmitted infections before the date of first vaccination.

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