Three Important Findings From a Study on HPV "Real World" Effectiveness.

Abstract

* Abbreviation: HPV — : human papillomavirus Early clinical trials of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine demonstrated high vaccine efficacy against persistent infection with the vaccine-specific HPV subtypes, indicating that there will be significant reductions in the prevalence of HPV-related cancers and diseases with widespread vaccination.1 Now that the vaccine has been available for public consumption for more than a decade, researchers are shifting their focus to the vaccine’s effectiveness, that is, how the vaccine performs in real-world situations rather than in the highly controlled clinical trial environment. Several studies have been done in this regard in a variety of countries, indicating that the vaccine is performing well, as expected.2 However, given the range of factors that can affect vaccine uptake and effectiveness, many more studies with this focus are needed to truly understand the vaccine’s expected public health potential. The study by Spinner et al3 in this issue of Pediatrics adds significantly to this growing body of literature. In this study, researchers recruited 4 cross-sectional cohorts (ie, study “waves”) of adolescent and young adult women (ages 13–26 years) from 2 clinical sites over a period of 11 years. The primary outcome assessed was HPV infection status, and analyses were stratified by whether the women had been vaccinated against HPV. HPV infection outcomes were divided into a group corresponding to the 4 types covered by the quadrivalent vaccine (HPV-6, HPV-11, HPV-16, and HPV-18) and an additional 5 HPV types covered in the 9-valent … Address correspondence to Amanda F. Dempsey, MD, Adult and Child Consortium for Health Outcomes Research and Delivery Science, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, 13199 E. Montview Blvd, Suite 300, Aurora, CO 80045. E-mail: amanda.dempsey{at}ucdenver.edu