Khaberni - A comprehensive French study published on Monday concluded that vaccines against human papillomavirus "HPV" significantly reduce the risk of cervical cancer, especially if taken at an early age, thereby confirming information available on this topic.
The study conducted by the "Cochrane" organization found that "the vaccine against human papillomavirus is likely to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer by 80% among those who were vaccinated at the age of 16 or earlier."
"Cochrane" is an organization that comprises a large number of researchers whose mission is to conduct studies aimed at establishing benchmark standards for knowledge about a specific topic. The quality of their work is widely recognized among medical and scientific communities, despite some methodological criticisms.
The benefits of the human papillomavirus vaccine "HPV" are already widely known, as this sexually transmitted virus is responsible for a large number of diseases, most notably cervical cancer.
Many countries are now launching vaccination programs for teenagers but often face hesitation due to skepticism about the vaccine.
New Reviews
In this context, the "Cochrane" organization, which had previously conducted a study on this topic at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, published two new reviews of the scientific literature available after a large number of new studies were completed during that period.
The first review, which was based only on clinical trials conducted by pharmaceutical companies, concluded that these vaccines are safe but ineffective against cervical cancer, due to the lack of long-term follow-up in the studies.
In contrast, the second review, which gathered over 200 studies conducted to measure the impact of vaccination campaigns, clearly concluded that the vaccine has a decisive effect in preventing the development of these cancers.
This effect increases in strength when the vaccine is received early: at a later age, a high rate of young groups have already been exposed to the virus through sexual activity, which reduces the protective effect of the vaccine.
As for other types of cancers - affecting the reproductive organs - linked to the human papillomavirus, the vaccine appears to be effective against them, but the evidence is of lower quality due to the rarity of these cases, which have been less studied.
Similar to the first study, this study also reassures about side effects, as the researchers concluded that the vaccine against the human papillomavirus "is not associated with an increased risk of long-term side effects or infertility."
