Healthy Skepticism Library item: 13598

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Calabresi L.
Promotion creates unrealistic HPV hope
6minutes (Australia) 2008 May 5
http://www.6minutes.com.au/articles/z1/view.asp?id=171653

Full text:

Promotion of HPV vaccines to older women can lead to false expectations about its effectiveness in this age group, an Australian expert suggests.

In today’s MJA, Dr Gerry Wain, director of the Department of Gynaecological Oncology at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital said most women encounter genital HPV soon after the onset of sexual activity, usually within the first 5-10 years.

While there is some evidence that women who have been exposed to one of the oncogenic strains of the virus (16 or 18), can be protected against the other strain if vaccinated, these trials were conducted in young populations (women aged between 16 and 26).

There is no demonstrated efficacy of Cervarix in women aged over 26 years, despite it being licensed for use in the age group, Dr Wain warns.

“The decision by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration(TGA) to register Cervarix for this population…is not easily understood,” he says.

Moreover, the marketing of the vaccine to this age group creates an unrealistic expectation in terms of their risk of cervical cancer, he suggests.

“Excessive promotion in the older age, when the vaccine is likely to be of substantially reduced efficacy because of either previous exposure or reduced risk of future exposure, potentially diverts attention and compliance with established methods of cervical cancer prevention based on cervical cytology,” Dr Wain says.