New 9-Valent HPV Vaccine Nearly 100% Effective

According to a recent study, the 9-valent vaccine for human papillomavirus (9vHPV) was 96.7% effective at preventing disease caused by 5 additional HPV strains (31, 33, 45, 52, and 58) not covered by the quadrivalent vaccine.

Note: The quadrivalent vaccine (qHPV)protects against HPV strains 6, 11, 16, and 18, while 9vHPV guards against strains 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58.

In order to test the new vaccine’s efficacy, researchers randomized 14,215 women into 2 groups: those who received the 9vHPV vaccine or those administered the qHPV vaccine as 3 intramuscular injections over 6 months.
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Researchers obtained swabs of vulvar, labial, perineal, perianal, endocervical, and ectocervical tissue for use in HPV DNA testing.

The study showed that the 9vHPV vaccine protected participants from over 96.7% of high-grade vaginal, cervical, or vulvar neoplasia or cancers related to strains 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58.

“The 9vHPV vaccine prevented infection and disease related to HPV-31, 33, 45, 52, and 58 in a susceptible population and generated an antibody response to HPV-6, 11, 16, and 18 that was noninferior to that generated by the qHPV vaccine,” said the authors of the study.

“The 9vHPV vaccine did not prevent infection and disease related to HPV types beyond the nine types covered by the vaccine,” they said.

Despite the efficacy of the new vaccine, researchers noted that protection for women in the US remains a problem, with only 57% of eligible women receiving 1 or more doses of the HPV vaccine due to inconvenience of 3 dose-installments, limited pediatrician support, lack of insurance coverage, or vaccine refusal.

The complete study is published in the February issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

-Michelle Canales Butcher

Reference:

Joura EA, Giuliano AR, Iversen OE, et al. A 9-valent HPV vaccine infection and intraepithelial neoplasia in women. NJEM. 2015 February [epub ahead of print] doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1405044.