Abstract

AGUERO ECHEVERRIA, Wilson Martín. Vaccination for the Human Papillomavirus. Pediatr. (Asunción) [online]. 2013, vol.40, n.2, pp.167-174. ISSN 1683-9803.

The discovery that certain strains of high-risk human papillomavirus caused nearly 100% of invasive cancer of the uterine cervix launched a revolution in the investigation of preventative vaccines for the cancer. Infection by the human papillomavirus (HPV) causes genital and non-genital epithelial lesions as well as lesions of the mucous membrane. Although the majority of infections are benign and self-limiting, persistent infection can lead to a variety of malignancies. Gardasil® is quadrivalent; it is produced in Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast, and protects against HPV types 16 and 18, which are oncogenic, as well as types 6 and 11, which cause almost 90% of genital warts. Cervarix® is formulated with a proprietary adjuvant that induces an antibody response significantly greater and more persistent than the antigens of the virus itself formulated with aluminum hydroxide alone. Both vaccines induce a strong antibody response in young women, with almost 100% seroconversion. Neither of the vaccines have a therapeutic effect. The medical community of each country has an obligation to assess the efficacy of vaccination campaigns as well as the efficacy in the medium-term of the vaccine chosen by their governments, given the inherent differences in the duration of protection, especially against cancer of the uterine cervix.

Keywords : Human papillomavirus; cancer of the uterine cervix; prevention; vaccination.

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