Cervical Cancer Deaths Down Following HPV Vaccine Introduction

MONDAY, Nov. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Women and girls aged 15 to 24 years have decreased cervical cancer incidence and mortality after introduction of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, according to a research letter published online Nov. 29 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Tara Tabibi, from the St. Louis University School of Medicine, and colleagues obtained national age-adjusted cervical cancer incidence and mortality data from January 2001 through December 2017 for women and girls aged 15 to 39 years. Quasi-experimental analyses were conducted comparing percentage changes in incidence and mortality from January 2001 through December 2005 (prevaccination) to January 2010 through December 2017 (postvaccination) for those aged 15 to 24, 25 to 29, and 30 to 39 years.

The researchers found that for the groups aged 15 to 24, 25 to 29, and 30 to 39 years, cervical cancer incidence rates were 0.68, 5.47, and 12.60 per 100,000, respectively, and mortality rates were 0.06, 0.57, and 1.89 per 100,000, respectively, from January 2001 through December 2017. From 2001-2005 to 2010-2017, the decreases in cervical cancer incidence and mortality were greater among those aged 15 to 24 years compared with those aged 25 to 29 and 30 to 39 years.

“The current study adds to knowledge by quantitatively comparing changes in cervical cancer incidence by age-based vaccine eligibility and providing suggestive evidence for vaccine-associated decreases in cervical cancer mortality,” the authors write.

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