(ANSA) – ROME, NOVEMBER 04 – Women who were vaccinated against papillomavirus (a sexually transmitted virus) when they were 12-13 years old get less sick with cervical cancer. In fact, among the vaccinated there are 87% fewer cases of cancer than a similar group of unvaccinated.
This is what emerged from the first long-term study that offers the first direct evidence of the effectiveness of the papillomavirus vaccine in preventing cancer. Published in the Lancet journal, the study considered one of the first vaccines to come into use against the papillomavirus, Cervarix, which prevents infections from the two most common strains of papillomaviruses linked to cervical cancer. The vaccination campaign with this vaccine started in 2008 and the vaccinated women were followed up until 2019.
The work was led by Peter Sasieni of King’s College London and shows that the rate of cervical cancer is reduced by 62% in women who were vaccinated against papillomavirus when they were older i.e. between 14-16. years, while the cancer rate is reduced by 34% in women who were vaccinated when they had already reached the age of 16-18, therefore later on.
These results show that avoiding papillomavirus infections can prevent cervical cancer, which is directly linked to cervical tissue lesions caused by this family of viruses. (HANDLE).
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