A large study in the United States found that the HPV vaccine can help prevent head and neck cancers within 10 years of getting the shot.
During the study, researchers compared about 510,000 vaccinated males with the same number of unvaccinated males, aged 9 to 26, over up to 10 years. They found that even one dose of the vaccine lowered the risk of these cancers.
Overall, vaccinated boys and men had about half the risk of HPV-related cancers compared to those who were not vaccinated. Those vaccinated between the ages of 9 and 14 had a 42% lower risk, while those vaccinated between 15 and 26 had a 50% lower risk.
While earlier studies mostly looked at adults, who may have already been exposed to HPV, this study shows that the vaccine still works well even when given in the teenage years or early adulthood.
The findings are important because HPV vaccination programs have mainly focused on women due to their link to cervical cancer. This study suggests that vaccinating males is also very beneficial.
However, the study had some limitations. Some diagnoses may not have been fully confirmed, some people may have been vaccinated outside the tracked health systems, and the researchers could not account for certain risk factors like sexual behavior.
"Our study indicates that 9v-HPV vaccines should be administered not only to females but also to young males," the researchers concluded.
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