NEWS Vaccine reduces cervical cancer rates by 87%
Cervical cancer rates are 87% lower in women who were offered vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) when they were between the ages of 12-13 than in previous generations confirms a new study published in The Lancet.
The researchers also found reductions
in cervical cancer rates of 62% in women offered vaccination between the ages of 14-16, and 34% in women aged of 16-18 when vaccination was introduced. This is the first direct evidence of prevention of cervical cancer using the bivalent vaccine, Cervarix. HPV vaccination has been introduced in 100 countries as part of efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO) to eliminate cervical cancer. England initially used a bivalent vaccine which protects against the two most common types of HPV, responsible for approximately 70-80% of all cervical cancers. The English HPV vaccination programme was introduced in 2008, with vaccines given to women between 12-13 years old and “catch-up” vaccinations offered to older age groups up to the age of 18. “Although previous studies have shown the usefulness of HPV vaccination in preventing HPV infection in England, direct evidence on cervical cancer prevention was limited,” said Professor Peter Sasieni, King’s College London, one of the authors
of the paper. “Early modelling studies suggested that the impact of the vaccination programme on cervical cancer rates would be substantial in women aged 20-29 by the end of 2019. Our new study aims to quantify this early impact. The observed impact is even greater than the models predicted.”
The study looked at population-based cancer registry data between January 2006 and June 2019 for seven cohorts of women who were between the ages of 20-64 at the end of 2019. Three of these cohorts formed the vaccinated population, where women were vaccinated with Cervarix between the ages of 12-13, 14-16 and 16-18 respectively. Incidences of cervical
cancer and non-invasive cervical carcinoma (CIN3) in the seven populations were recorded separately. In the three vaccinated cohorts there were around 450 fewer cases of cervical cancers and 17,200 fewer cases of CIN3 than expected in a non- vaccinated population. The research found reductions in cervical cancer rates of 87% (with a confidence interval of 72-94%) in women targeted between the ages of 12-13 (89% of whom received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine and 85% of whom had received three jabs and were fully vaccinated), 62% (CI: 52-71%) in women potentially vaccinated between the ages of 14-16, and 34% (CI: 25-41%) in those eligible for vaccination between the ages of 16-18 (60% of whom received at least one dose and 45% of whom were fully vaccinated). The corresponding reductions in CIN3 rates were 97% in women vaccinated between the ages of 12-13, 75% in women vaccinated between the ages of 14-16 and 39% in women vaccinated between the ages of 16-18.
The study was funded by Cancer
Research UK and conducted by researchers from King’s College London. Visit:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/
lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02178-4/ fulltext
Imperial launches new institute to tackle infectious disease threats
Imperial College London has launched a new institute to tackle some of the biggest challenges in infectious disease. The ‘Institute of Infection’ will unite scientists from medicine and life sciences with mathematicians, engineers, physicists and a range of other fields to work together in new ways, harnessing their combined expertise to tackle emerging and longstanding issues in infectious disease.
The aim of the Institute is to address some of the biggest unanswered questions, including ‘how is climate change impacting the spread of diseases transmitted by flies and mosquitoes?’, ‘how are gene-editing technologies helping to reduce the spread of diseases (such as Dengue and Zika)?’, and ‘how can animal vaccination programmes help to curb diseases which also affect humans?’ Professor Charles Bangham, from Imperial’s Department of Infectious Disease and co-director of the Institute of Infection, said: “Our new Institute will draw on Imperial’s vast strengths across engineering, natural sciences, business and medicine like never before. We have been planning the Institute for many years to tackle existing as
on every class of organism that causes infection, including: viruses like influenza and HIV; bacteria that cause tuberculosis, food poisoning and typhoid; fungi such as Aspergillus (black mould); and protozoa such as the parasites which cause malaria and ‘sleeping sickness’. Professor Jake Baum, from Imperial’s
well as emerging infectious disease threats; the global pandemic gives us a strong reminder of the need to work together on these challenges, and gives the launch an extra urgency. We hope it will encourage new opportunities, ideas and research projects where these disciplines combine, working with the College’s extensive network of collaborators in the UK and around the world.” The Institute will see scientists working
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Department of Life Sciences and co-director of the Institute of Infection, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has really brought home how much damage and suffering infectious diseases can cause and it’s also shown what scientists can achieve when we work together towards common goals. “But while much of the focus has been on emerging infectious threats, the world still needs us to find better ways of tackling existing infectious diseases that continue to take a huge toll, like malaria and HIV, as well as broader issues like antimicrobial resistance (AMR). “As has been done so successfully during the pandemic, we can bring together researchers from across different disciplines and devote the same kind of collective brainpower to finding new ways of preventing and treating infectious diseases.”
DECEMBER 2021
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