Genital warts, cervical cell abnormalities and diagnostic and therapeutic procedures could be rapidly reduced by high-coverage human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations among adolescents and young women, according to a new study.
The study of 17,662 women aged 15 years and above was carried out by Nubia Munoz MD and colleagues at the National Institute of Cancer in Bogota, Colombia, to find out if the HPV vaccine lowered the risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), external anogenital and vaginal lesions and other conditions.
The vaccination reduced the risk of HPV16/18-related high-grade cervical, vulvar and vaginal lesions, along with the risk of HPV6/11-related genital warts by up to 100% among the uninfected women in the group.
The risk of any lesion, genital warts, Pap abnormalities and definitive therapy, irrespective of HPV type, was reduced by vaccination.
Authors of the study said: "Our results provide strong evidence to suggest that the ongoing HPV vaccination programs in adolescent girls and young women will result within a few years in a notable reduction of genital warts, cervical cytological abnormalities, and diagnostic and therapeutic procedures related to precursor lesions in the cervix, vulva, and vagina."
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