By: Zosia Chustecka
August 18, 2009 — The benefit of vaccinating against human papilloma virus (HPV) to prevent cervical cancer is questioned in an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
“The theory behind the vaccine is sound: if HPV infection can be prevented, cancer will not occur,” writes editorialist Charlotte Haug, MD, PhD, from the Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association. “But in practice, the issue is more complex.”
HPV is the most prevalent sexually transmitted infection, “but the virus does not appear to be very harmful because almost all HPV infections are cleared by the immune system,” she explains. In a few women, the HPV infection persists, and some women may develop precancerous cervical lesions and eventually cancer, Dr. Haug writes, “but it is currently impossible to predict in which women this will occur.”
