GALVESTON, Texas — New research indicates a single dose of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is as effective as multiple doses.
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States, and certain types of the virus can cause cervical cancer.
To prevent infection, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adolescents -- both boys and girls -- under the age of 15 years receive a two-dose schedule of the HPV vaccine.
Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston examined information on females aged nine to 26 years who were unvaccinated or who received one or more HPV vaccine doses between January 2006 and June 2015.
They found 2.65 percent of the unvaccinated girls, ages 15 to 19 years old, developed pre-invasive cervical disease within five years. Of the girls who received a single dose of the vaccine, 1.62 percent developed it.
Their research was published in CANCER, a peer-reviewed publication of the American Cancer Society.
The study was conducted by University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and published in the medical journal, CANCER.
Almost two percent of the girls who had two doses developed it, and 1.86 percent of the girls who had received three doses developed it. So, according to those numbers, one dose could even be more effective.
You can read more about the research here.
10News spoke with the study’s lead author, Dr. Ana Rodriguez. She is a faculty member at the University of Texas Medical Branch and a clinician, as well.
“So my work is related to HPV virus and the infection. I am also a clinician and I see all the medical consequences related to the virus, among young women and older,” Rodriguez said.
She thinks more research needs to be done but thinks this study is encouraging.
“The main benefit will be logistics and cheaper. Because sometimes, even for the students in my program it’s hard for them to come back for the 2nd or 3rd dose,” she said. “I think people will be more compliant if it is only one dose required.”
It's estimated nearly 80 million Americans have HPV and 14 million more will get it this year.
February is National Cancer Prevention Month.
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