Knowledge Deficits Limit Use of HPV Vaccine in Young Women

Researchers from Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Upstate Medical University and the State University of New York at Buffalo have reported that knowledge and risk perceptions among college students limits vaccination for human papillomavirus (HPV). The details of this study appeared in an early on-line publication in Sexually Transmitted Infections on October 19, 2009.[1]

HPV is the cause of cervical cancer, and two high-risk types of HPV – types 16 and 18 – account for approximately 70% of all cases. Cervical cancer can occur from two to 50 years after the onset of infection. Over 20 million Americans are infected with some type of HPV. In most developing countries, most women are already infected with HPV making development of a vaccine paramount in controlling this disease. It is also important to point out that HPV is associated with infections and cancers of other sites such as the vulva, vagina, anus, penis and oropharynx. It is anticipated that vaccines against cervical HPV would also be effective for HPV infections in sites other than the cervix.

HPV vaccination with Gardasil® (quadrivalent HPV vaccine) or Cervarix® (bivalent HPV vaccine) is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for girls and young women. Gardasil is also approved by the FDA for the prevention of genital warts in males. Gardasil has been available for vaccination of girls since 2006.

The current study was carried out to determine the rates of HPV vaccination in 406 female college students between the ages of 18 and 26 years. The vaccination rate was 43.6%. The majority of women in this study did not recognize the high risk of acquiring and transmitting HPV. One of the interesting findings was that 18 year old students were about four times more likely to be vaccinated as 19-26 year olds. Women who knew that HPV causes genital warts were almost twice as likely to be vaccinated as women unaware of this fact. They also found that African-American and Asian females were less likely to be vaccinated.

These authors concluded that “These findings suggest knowledge deficits and misperceptionsabout HPV risk as potential themes for educational campaignsencouraging greater use of the preventive HPV vaccine amongthis subgroup.”

Comments: This study suggests that there is a significant gap in knowledge of late teenagers and young adult women concerning HPV infection. Other studies have shown that parental attitudes also play a major role in the decision to receive HPV vaccination.