Vaccine is effective against HPV

doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7486.0-g

BMJ 2005;330 (5 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7486.0-g

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Vaccine is effective against HPV

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Question Is a vaccine effective against human papillomavirus(HPV) strains associated with cervical cancer?

Synopsis This team of researchers randomly assigned healthywomen aged 15 to 25 with no more than six sexual partners andno history of condyloma or cervical cancer to receive a bivalentvaccine active against HPV serotypes 16 and 18 or placebo. Theyadministered the vaccine or placebo at 0, 1, and 6 months andevaluated the patients after 27 months for HPV infection orcytological abnormalities. With an intention to treat approachto these outcomes, the vaccine was 95% effective against persistentHPV infection and 93% effective against cytological abnormalitiesassociated with HPV. In the intention to treat analysis, theabsolute reduction was 6.4% for new HPV infections (number neededto treat (NNT) = 16) and 3.5% for persistent infections (NNT= 29). Other than symptoms at the site of injection, there wereno differences . . . [Full text of this article]