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even one hpv Vaccination appears to be as effective as two doses in preventing the viral infection that causes cervical cancer, researchers reported Wednesday.
HPV, or human papillomavirus, is very common and spread through sex. Most HPV infections clear up on their own, but some persist for a long time, causing cancers that appear years later, including cervical cancer in women and rare cancers in both women and men.
HPV vaccination has been recommended for American girls since 2006, and the country is already seeing fewer cases of cervical lesions in women in their 20s — the first age group to start getting the vaccine since they were in their tweens or teens.
But cervical cancer kills about 340,000 women worldwide every year – and new findings from a huge study costa rica This could help boost global efforts to protect more girls and young women in hard-to-reach low-income countries.
Led by the US National Cancer Institute, the study involved more than 20,000 girls between the ages of 12 and 16. Researchers tested two different HPV vaccines used around the world, giving half the girls one shot and the rest the other. Then six months later, half the girls received the second dose of their scheduled vaccine — while the rest received an unrelated childhood vaccination instead.
They were all tracked for five years and had regular cervical testing for the most cancer-prone HPV strains. Infection rates were compared with a separate unvaccinated group.
Researchers from the NCI and Costa Rica’s Biomedical Research Agency concluded that a single HPV shot provides about 97% protection, similar to two doses. The findings were reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Previous studies had suggested one dose might work well but the new findings confirm strong protection for at least five years, Dr. Ruan Barnabas, an infectious disease expert at Massachusetts General Hospital, wrote in an editorial.
“We have the evidence and the tools to eliminate cervical cancer. All that remains is the collective will to apply them equitably, effectively,” wrote Barnabas, who was not involved in the Costa Rican study.
The US recommends two HPV shots starting at age 11 or 12 for most girls and boys — because the virus can also cause head and neck and other cancers. Catch-up shots are recommended for anyone up to age 26 who has not been vaccinated. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that about 78% of children ages 13 to 17 have received at least one dose.
But globally, World Health Organization Fewer than a third of teens are estimated to have been vaccinated — and the agency has already begun recommending one or two doses in an effort to broaden protection.
The new study did not provide any information about HPV-related cancers beyond the cervix, and researchers cautioned that longer-term monitoring is needed.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. AP is solely responsible for all content.