HPV vaccine prevents up to 90% of cancers | capital Cities

Immunizer is only available on the private health network. Both men and women between the ages of 9 and 45 can get the vaccine

Cervical cancer prevention strategies got an important boost this month. The Gardasil 9 immunization device, manufactured by MSD Brasil, has begun to be sold in private vaccination clinics.

Cervical cancer is the third most common type of tumor among women in Brazil. In 2023, the National Cancer Institute (Inca) expects 17,000 new cases of the disease.

Vaccination against the human papilloma virus (HPV) is a highly effective strategy in fighting tumors. The new vaccine, which is intended for boys and girls and men and women ages 9 to 45, protects against the four genotypes already present in the previous version of the Gardasil immunization device (6, 11, 16, and 18) and against five additional genotypes (31), 33, 45, 52, 58).

Studies show that these five new subtypes are responsible for a 20% increase in cervical cancer cases, in addition to the 70% increase due to the four subtypes found in the quadrivalent vaccine. The nine virus subtypes are also responsible for 85% of vaginal cancer cases.

Defense antibodies

MSD Medical Director, Marcia Datz-Abadi, notes that HPV vaccination is most effective when it occurs in childhood, as it stimulates the production of more antibodies and ensures protection against the virus before contact with it, and also reduces its transmission.

“Vaccinating girls and boys against HPV is a huge advance on the path to eliminating cervical cancer, but it’s still new. There’s a whole generation of women going into adulthood who didn’t have access to the vaccine in their teens,” says Marcia.

As a sexually transmitted infection, the taboos surrounding HPV and the lack of information about its relationship to the development of tumors mean that many women arrive at the office with lesions in an advanced stage.

According to Marcia, in most cases, these infections are the result of an ongoing infection that was not properly diagnosed or treated and ended up developing.

“Because this type of tumor, most of the time, does not show symptoms in the early stages, many women are diagnosed when the cancer is already in an advanced stage,” says the pro.

The doctor indicates that vaccination against human papillomavirus, linked to screening for precancerous lesions in women through the Papanicolaou test, can significantly reduce the incidence of cervical cancer.

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