HPV vaccination is safe and effective at 10-year follow-up

by Alex Gipsman, MD September 11, 2023 in Chronic Disease, Infectious Disease, Pediatrics, Public Health

Reading Time: 3 mins read

1. In a long-term follow-up study of an earlier randomized control trial, participants demonstrated sustained immunity 10 years after receiving a 3-dose series of human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination.

2. There were no HPV-related malignancies or vaccine-related serious adverse events during the follow-up period.

Evidence Rating Level: 1 (Excellent)

Study Rundown: The risk of HPV-related cancer is lifelong, and therefore any benefit from HPV vaccination needs to be durable across time. This extension study sought to determine the long-term immunogenicity and safety of the 9-valent HPV (9vHPV) vaccine at 10 years following vaccination. The initial study was a multi-center, international study enrolling girls and boys to receive 3 doses of the 9vHPV vaccine. The primary endpoint was serologic evidence of immunity, and secondary endpoints included the development of HPV-related disease, persistent infection, and vaccine-related serious adverse events. At the 10-year follow-up point, the 9vHPV vaccine demonstrated persistent immunologic protection with nearly 95% of subjects remaining seropositive at 10 years. No high-grade HPV-related malignancies or serious adverse events were observed. One important limitation of the study is the lack of a control group. This resulted in the authors interpreting these data in the context of similar prior studies. Overall, this is a well-designed large multicenter study of the long-term efficacy and safety of HPV vaccination and supports the need for ongoing HPV vaccination campaigns in this population.

Link to study in Pediatrics : https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2022-060993

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