Early HPV vaccination significantly reduced condylomata incidence

Initial vaccinations for HPV for women aged younger than 14 years significantly reduced the incidence of condylomata acuminata, according to study results. However, out-of-pocket vaccination costs influenced vaccine uptake, and researchers observed substantial disparities across socioeconomic status. “Prophylactic HPV vaccination programs [have been] launched with aim to prevent cervical cancer as well as other HPV-related cancers,” Lisen Arnheim-Dahlström, PhD, research associate at the department of medical epidemiology and statistics at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues wrote. “As the current vaccinated cohorts in Sweden are still too young to assess effectiveness of vaccination against precancerous lesions or invasive HPV-related cancers, condyloma acuminata, also referred to as genital warts, with a shorter incubation time after HPV infection, is ideal to study as a first evaluation of HPV vaccine effectiveness.” Sweden introduced opportunistic HPV vaccination in 2007. The effort allowed girls ages 13 to 17 years the chance to receive the vaccination at a reduced...