Recent Research Study: HPV Vaccination Substantially Reduces Risk of Invasive Cervical Cancer

A recent Swedish study published in the New England Journal of Medicine assessed the association between HPV vaccination and the subsequent risk of invasive cervical cancer. During the study period, the researchers evaluated 1.7 million girls and women, 10 to 30 years old, for cervical cancer. The findings showed that, among Swedish girls and women 10 to 30 years old, quadrivalent HPV vaccination was associated with a substantially reduced risk of invasive cervical cancer, especially in women who were immunized at a younger age.

ACOG recommends that obstetrician–gynecologists and other health care professionals should strongly recommend HPV vaccination to eligible patients and stress the benefits and safety of the HPV vaccine. Health care professionals play a critical role and should assess and vaccinate adolescent girls age 11–12 years and previously unvaccinated young women during the catch-up period (ages 13–26 years). Additionally, health care professionals may use shared clinical decision making with previously unvaccinated women aged 27–45 years, considering the patient’s risk for acquisition of new HPV infection and whether the HPV vaccine may provide benefit.

Read the full research article.