Widespread use of HPV shots could mean fewer cervical can...

What’s Happening

Breaking it down: A modeling study of Norway, which has high HPV vaccination coverage and uniform cervical cancer screening, suggests fewer screens could be needed.

News Health & Medicine Widespread use of HPV shots could mean fewer cervical cancer screenings Norway’s high rate of HPV vaccination may make it possible reduce screenings, a study suggests A 12-year-old girl receives an HPV vaccination. In Norway, which has a high rate of HPV vaccination and a uniform cervical screening program, fewer screenings may be necessary, a study suggests. (yes, really)

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The Details

) Say you lived in a country that has sky-high HPV vaccination coverage plus a uniform cervical cancer screening program. A new study suggests that, depending on when you got your shots, you might only need a few screenings in your lifetime.

In this case, that country is Norway. Using a mathematical model, researchers found that women in Norway who had been vaccinated between the ages of 12 and 24 would only need a screening once every 15 to 25 years .

Why This Matters

For women who received the HPV shots between the ages of 25 and 30 years, ten years between screenings would suffice, the researchers report February 3 in Annals of Internal Medicine . For our We summarize the week’s scientific breakthroughs every Thursday. The HPV vaccine “is a cancer-preventing vaccine,” says Kimberly Levinson, the director of Johns Hopkins Gynecologic Oncology at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center, who was not a part of the research team.

Scientists and researchers are watching this development closely.

The Bottom Line

The HPV vaccine “is a cancer-preventing vaccine,” says Kimberly Levinson, the director of Johns Hopkins Gynecologic Oncology at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center, who was not a part of the research team. There is already fire efficacy data for this vaccine and the new research shows “the potential that exists if we can actually get people vaccinated at the appropriate time,” Levinson says.

What’s your take on this whole situation?