"Virgin vaccination": Twice is good, three times is better
All content is checked by medical journalists.MunichWhen it comes to sexually transmitted diseases, genital warts and co. Are among the front runners. Particularly dangerous for women: a chronic infection can cause cervical cancer - vaccination recommended. But how often should this be repeated? A new study provides answers.
Genital warts are not just an aesthetic problem. Certain types of the human papillomavirus (HPV) carry the risk for women that the changes in the mucous membrane will later develop into cervical cancer. And then when your immune system fails to turn off the virus. Around ten percent of infections are chronic. The Standing Vaccination Commission at the Robert Koch Institute therefore recommends women between the ages of 12 and 17 to be vaccinated against HPV before they have sex for the first time.
"Vaccination protection could be increased"
At present, complete vaccination protection consists of three individual injections that should be given within one year. But experts are discussing limiting the number of injections to two in the future. Proponents believe that this is already sufficient to build up protection against the HPV viruses.
A large study by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden now shows that two injections already offer good protection - around 71 percent of women are then immune to HPV. "But it could be increased again with three injections," says epidemiologist Lisen Arnheim-Dahlström. Up to 82 percent of the women vaccinated were then insensitive to the virus in their study.
Genital warts as early warning signs of cancer
Arnheim-Dahlström's employees were able to access the data of around one million Swedes that were recorded in the national health register of the Scandinavian country. They formed four groups from this: women without vaccination protection and those with one, two or three vaccinations. Because only around 80 percent of women actually had all three recommended vaccine doses injected.
Now the researchers looked for evidence of genital warts in the data. These are not only very easy to spot during a gynecological examination, they also appear relatively soon after an infection. This makes them best suited as an early indicator of a lack of protection against viruses. It usually takes many years for the infection to develop into cancer, and the HPV vaccines have only been on the market since 2006.
Vaccination before the first sex
"Our data suggest that we should stick to the recommendation of three vaccine doses until further data are available on the effectiveness of the vaccination against genital warts and early forms of cervical cancer," said Arnheim-Dahlström. In Sweden, the reimbursement of vaccinations has now been extended from the previous 12 to 17 years to 10 to 18 years to take account of changed sexual habits. Because the vaccination only works preventively, but not if the virus is already in the body. Because of the enormous spread of the HPV virus, it should be done before the first sexual contact.
In Germany, around 6,500 women develop cervical cancer every year, and around 1,700 die as a result. This type of cancer is the third most common cancer-related cause of death in women under the age of 60. In up to 70 percent of tumors, genetic material of the so-called HPV high-risk types 16 and 18 can be detected. In addition to vaccination, condoms in particular offer effective protection against infection. (jr)
Sources: L. Arnheim-Dahlström et. al .: "Association of varying number of doses of quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine with incidence of condyloma", Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), (online February 11, 2014).
Cancer umbrella documentation of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and Epidemiological Bulletin 32/2009 of the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) at the RKI.
Tags: magazine home remedies drugs
