Abstract
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection. Its progression is related to the development of malignant lesions, particularly cervical intraepithelial neoplasias (CINs). CINs correlate with a higher risk of premature births, and their excisional and ablative treatment further increases this risk in pregnant women. These complications are also correlated with higher healthcare costs for their management. In Italy, more than 26,000 new cases of CINs are estimated to occur yearly and their economic burden is significant. Therefore, the management of these conditions is a public health priority. Since HPV vaccination is associated with a reduced risk of relapse in women surgically treated for HPV-related injuries, we estimated the economic impact of extending HPV vaccination to this target population. This strategy would result in a significant reduction in the general costs of managing these women, resulting in an overall saving for the Italian Health Service of €155,596.38 in 5 years. This lower cost is due not only to the reduced incidence of CINs following vaccination, but also to the lower occurrence of preterm births. Extending HPV vaccination to this target population as part of a care path to be offered to women treated for HPV injuries is therefore desirable.
Highlights
Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection is very frequent in the population and it is mainly transmitted sexually
On the basis of the costs calculated according to the methodology described and the distribution of women among the arms of the probabilistic trees in the two scenarios analyzed, the results yielded by the model demonstrate that extending HPV vaccination with 9vHPV to women with a previous HPV-related lesion would yield a significant reduction in the general costs of managing patients from the second year of analysis onwards, the saving in the second year being −€389,803.89 over the whole sample of patients considered
From a public health perspective, HPV vaccination constitutes a fundamental strategy for the primary prevention of CC and other HPV-related lesions
Summary
Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection is very frequent in the population and it is mainly transmitted sexually. HPV Reference Center more than 225 HPV types have been described [1]. According to their ability to cause pre-cancerous lesions, these are categorized as high-risk (HR). The HPV genotypes 16 and 18 are related to approximately 70% of all cervical cancers (CC). In most cases (about 90%) the infection resolves spontaneously, with viral clearance, within two years; by contrast, the persistence of HR-HPV infection can lead to dysplasia and an increased risk of developing cancer [3]. One of the most frequent precancerous precursor lesions associated with the persistence of HPV infection is cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
