HPV vaccine cuts risk of vulvovaginal precancers: Study

The HPV vaccine, widely known for preventing cervical cancer, also significantly reduces the risk of precancerous vulvar and vaginal lesions, particularly when administered at a younger age, according to a large Swedish cohort study published in JAMA Oncology.

New Delhi: The Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, known for preventing cervical cancer, can also help safeguard against precancerous lesions of the vulva and vagina in girls and women, according to a study.

The study, published in the journal JAMA Oncology, showed that women who received at least 1 dose of the quadrivalent HPV vaccine had a 37 per cent lower incidence of high-grade vulvovaginal lesions than those unvaccinated.

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The incidence reduction of high-grade vulvovaginal lesions was statistically significant among women vaccinated at 10 to 16 years, as their rate of vaginal or vulvar precancers was 57 per cent lower compared to unvaccinated women.

“The findings emphasise the critical role of HPV vaccination initiated at an early age. The enhanced risk reduction in younger women may be attributable to the reduced probability of prior HPV exposure before vaccination,” said researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

The team conducted a cohort study of 7,78,943 women, born from 1985 to 1998 and living in Sweden from 2006 to 2022.

During the follow-up, 98 cases of high-grade vulvovaginal lesions were found in vaccinated women, and 547 cases were found in unvaccinated women.

Compared with unvaccinated women, the fully adjusted incidence rate ratio of high-grade vulvovaginal lesions was 0.63 in vaccinated women.

Vulvar and vaginal lesions are diverse skin changes (bumps, sores, cysts, discoloration) around the genitals, ranging from benign (infections, cysts, skin conditions like lichen sclerosus) to precancerous (VIN) or cancerous. These often cause itching, pain, burning, or discharge.

Finding vulvar and vaginal lesions at the precancerous stage — before they transform into life-threatening cancer — is important because early detection increases the odds of being cured.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection globally and is responsible for more than 690,000 new cancer cases annually. It is the primary cause of cervical cancer, along with several other genital and head and neck cancers in both women and men.

A recent study showed that the HPV vaccine may not only prevent cervical cancer, but also provides significant herd immunity effects, offering protection even to young women who were not vaccinated.