注射人乳头状瘤病毒（human papillomavirus，HPV）疫苗（简称宫颈癌疫苗）预防宫颈癌是近年来备受关注的医学热点之一。最近，又有研究证明“注射该疫苗对预防宫颈癌前期病变发展至浸润性宫颈癌具有非常好的效果”。目前，已经达成的共识如下：

１、接种该类疫苗越早效果越好，最好于开始性生活前接种（The vaccine is particularly effective when given to adolescent girls before they become sexually active），有观点认为“年轻的女性在未被HPV感染前接种宫颈癌疫苗可以达到100%的预防宫颈癌之效果（The vaccine was 100 percent effective against cancer in young women who were not infected with HPV before they were immunized,）。

２、由GlaxoSmithKline 生产的疫苗～Cervarix能够有效地预防16和18型HPV感染，故具有极佳的预防宫颈癌之效果，因为70%的宫颈癌因这两个亚型的HPV感染所致（Cervarix， made by GlaxoSmithKline, protects against human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18, which cause 70 percent of cervical cancers）。

３、已经被HPV感染的女性接种宫颈癌疫苗仍然有效。

基于上述观点或事实，有条件的女性理应尽快接种宫颈癌疫苗。

More Evidence That HPV Vaccine Shields Against Cervical Cancer

Coverage against precancerous lesion called 'excellent' in large, multinational study

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 9 (HealthDay News) -- A new study suggests that the Cervarix cervical cancer vaccine may provide "excellent" protection against a precancerous lesion that is often a forerunner to invasive cervical cancer.

Cervarix, made by GlaxoSmithKline, protects against human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18, which cause 70 percent of cervical cancers. The vaccine is particularly effective when given to adolescent girls before they become sexually active.

Cervarix is one of two HPV vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the other being Merck's Gardasil.

The four-year study included nearly 20,000 women aged 15 to 25 in 14 countries in North America, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific region and Europe. The vaccine was found to be more than 93 percent effective against the CIN3 lesion, a precancerous anomaly that often appears before invasive cancer.

The vaccine was 100 percent effective against cancer in young women who were not infected with HPV before they were immunized, the study found, and it was 46 percent effective against CIN3 and 77 percent effective against cancer in the general population of women (who may or may not have been previously exposed to HPV).

　　Cervarix was 100 percent effective against CIN3 lesions specifically linked to the HPV 16 and HPV 18 strains in previously unexposed women, and it was nearly 46 percent effective in the general population.

The study appears online Nov. 8 in The Lancet Oncology.

One expert said the new findings "are further evidence of the benefits of HPV vaccine."

Dr. Stephanie V. Blank, an assistant professor in clinical gynecologic oncology at NYU School of Medicine, said, "Although not perfect, this study is the largest trial of HPV 16/18 vaccine to date. It is significant because with longer time of follow-up, we are better able to show the true effect of the vaccine."

Blank added that the study "shows that the HPV vaccine will be most protective among adolescent girls but that it is also effective among HPV-exposed women."

Along with specifically targeting HPV 16 and 18, Cervarix also partially protects against four other types of HPV (31, 33, 45 and 51) that account for 15 percent of cervical cancers, according to another study in the same issue of the journal.

Increasing vaccination rates, particularly among young females who aren't sexually active, should be a focus of HPV vaccination efforts, Dr. Mark Schiffman and Sholom Wacholder of the U.S. National Cancer Institute stressed in an accompanying commentary.

Blank agreed with that assessment. "There are several take-home messages here: Vaccinate early; catch-up programs are also worth it; the positive impact of the HPV vaccine may be even more than we had expected; and the vaccine has an effect even if a woman is already exposed to HPV," she said.

SOURCES: Stephanie V. Blank, MD, assistant professor, clinical gynecologic oncology, NYU School of Medicine, New York City; The Lancet Oncology, news release, Nov. 4, 2011