La incierta prevención del cáncer de cuello de útero con la vacuna contra el virus del Papiloma humano

Abstract

Questions and doubt around cervical cancer prevention with the vaccine against human papillomavirus The vaccine against human papillomavirus has been marketed in 2007. It is recommended for use in children aged 11 and 12 years to prevent cervical cancer, because of the strong association of cervical cancer with the presence of some oncogenic types of papillomavirus. The vaccine is already included in the official calendar in many developed countries. In this paper the author reviews the scientific basis of that decision. Critical questions are: stability in the epidemiology of the infection and incidence and mortality of cervical cancer, lack of correlation between levels of serologic immunity and the natural one, the impact of the vaccine in virus ecology, the cost-effectiveness without a definitive answer to the duration of the vaccination, the pharmaceutical industry sponsorship of most research and the need to maintain screening with Papanicolaou. We need more time and information before establishing a vaccine population program.