May 3, 2023 – A latest study shows that one dose of a vaccine that may prevent the virus accountable for most cases of cervical cancer could also be as effective as the standard two or three doses.
The Results could make a major contribution to reducing cervical cancer rates worldwide, as a single dose would simplify the vaccination process and price less. Cervical cancer is the fourth commonest cancer in women and claimed an estimated 342,000 lives worldwide in 2020.
The vaccine prevents the transmission of cancer-causing strains of the sexually transmitted disease called human papillomavirus (HPV). The first HPV vaccine was approved within the United States in 2006, and the CDC currently recommends two or three doses, depending on the person's age.
The latest findings were presented in late April in the course of the thirty fifth International Papillomavirus Conference in Washington, DC. The study involved 2,275 people in Kenya between the ages of 15 and 20. They were randomly assigned to receive one among three treatments: a single-dose vaccine targeting two HPV strains, a single-dose HPV vaccine targeting nine strains, or a control vaccine. Participants were tested repeatedly for 3 years. The vaccine against two strains was 98% effective and the vaccine against nine strains was 96% effective. reported.
In December, the World Health Organization reduced the really useful variety of HPV vaccine doses to at least one, noting on the time that only 15% of women worldwide had received the vaccine in 2021.
“Following the WHO recommendation for a one-dose HPV vaccine could help make the vaccine more accessible to women and girls around the world by reducing costs, easing pressure on supplies and making it easier to administer the vaccine,” Dr. Peter Dull, deputy director of clinical vaccine development on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which funded the research, said in a press release.
At least 24 countries have already adopted the single-dose approach. The New York Times reportedFurther research results are expected in 2025, including a proper scientific test of protection from multiple doses compared with single doses, the newspaper said.