Standard HPV Vaccine Dose May Be More Protective Than Reduced Dose

Young women and girls who receive a single dose of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine were at significantly higher risk of abnormal cervical pathology compared with women who received 2 doses, according to the results of a recent study.

In order to evaluate the long-term effects of various HPV vaccine doses, researchers conducted an analysis of health insurance claims from 11,335 young women, aged 9 to 26 years, who had received at least 1 dose of HPV vaccination.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RELATED CONTENT
Could the HPV Vaccine Help Treat Recurrent Oral Warts?
ACS Update Recommendations for HPV Vaccine in Children 9 to 14 Years Old
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Overall, 1975 of the 11,335 young women received 1 dose of the vaccine (group 1), 2089 received 2 doses (group 2), and 7271 received 3 doses (group 3). After roughly 5 years of follow-up, participants in group 1 had a higher cumulative incidence of high-grade cytology or histology, adenocarcinoma in situ, and cervical cancer compared with individuals in group 2. However, no significant differences were noted between groups 2 and 3.

“Our results show that women who received 2 doses of the HPV vaccine exhibit higher prophylactic efficacy against abnormal high-grade cytology, high-grade histology, adenocarcinoma in situ, and invasive cervical cancer when compared to women who received a single dose. However, no additional protective effect was found with getting a third dose of the HPV vaccine,” the researchers concluded.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Zeybek B, Rodriguez A. Comparison of long term impact and clinical outcomes of reduced dose vs. standard dose quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine in the United States: A database study [Presented at the Society of Gynecologica Oncology’s Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer]. National Harbor, MD. March 12, 2017.