HPV Vaccination Empowers Cervical Cancer Herd Immunity

Each year, the American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates the number of new cancer cases and related fatalities in the United States (U.S.). Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, exceeded only by heart disease. 

On January 12, 2022, the ACS published a study with good news regarding cervical cancer.

This new ACS study highlights a 65% decrease in cervical cancer incidence from 2012 through 2019 among women in their early 20s.

This is the first cohort to receive the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) early in life, which foreshadows steep reductions in the burden of cancer.

This is essential news since there were 12,795 new cases of cervical cancer reported among women, and 4,152 women died of this cancer n 2019.

Surprisingly, cervical cancer herd immunity has also been identified in the U.S. based on data from the National Health Examination Survey from 2003 through 2018.

This data shows reductions in HPV-16 and HPV-18 infection among sexually active females aged 14–24 years, of 90% among those vaccinated and 74% among those unvaccinated.

Sweden was the first to report a population-level reduction in invasive cervical cancer incidence of 78% among women vaccinated before the age of 17 in 2020.

Shortly after that, an 87% reduction in cervical cancer and a 97% reduction in grade 3 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia was demonstrated among women aged 20–29 years who were vaccinated at ages 12 to 13 years in England.

Although up-to-date (three-dose) HPV vaccination coverage in the U.S. has lagged behind other countries, accumulating evidence suggests that a single dose offers substantial protection and may even be preferable in low-income, high-burden populations.

In April 2022, the World Health Organization's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization endorsed single-dose vaccination among girls aged 9–14 to address the global shortfall and optimize cancer prevention.

In 2021, 79% of adolescent girls in the United States had received at least one dose, and 64% were fully up to date.

HPV vaccines are generally available at clinics and pharmacies in the U.S.