Abstract:
Over 72 countries have human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine on their National Immunisation Programme. This report summarises new research into HPV vaccines and vaccination published during the past two and half years, from January 2013 to June 2016. The causal link between human papillomaviruses and cervical cancer was made in the 1980s. Since then, it has been shown that virtually all cervical cancers can be attributed to the sexual transmission of around 12 oncogenic types, in particular HPV types 16 and 18. In countries without effective cervical screening programmes, cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer death. It is now also recognised that these high-risk HPV types are associated with anal cancer, vulvar cancer, vaginal cancer, penile cancer and HPVpositive oropharyngeal cancer. HPV types 6 and 11 account for around 90% of all genital warts cases and can also cause recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. Most HPV infections are cleared within 18 months. However, clearing an infection does not necessarily lead to immunity and reinfection is possible. The review covers the recent literature on safety, immunogenicity, efficacy, effectiveness, impact, age specific issues, schedules of quadrivalent and nonavalent HPV vaccines, along with other areas highlighted for review. In the past two years there has been an explosion of research published around HPV vaccines and vaccination. The final library for this review is 1456 with 122 selected for inclusion.
