Cervical Cancer Screening in Women Vaccinated Against HPV: Is It Time to Change Strategies?

Abstract

It will become increasingly common in gynecological practice to care for women who have been vaccinated against HPV. At present, we do not have specific guidelines for cytologic screening and management of women vaccinated against HPV; however, the available information is growing and highlights the need for new guidelines in the near future for this population, whether for individual management or for a partially vaccinated population. HPV vaccines have been shown to prevent precancerous lesions in clinical trials. Furthermore, prevention of cervical cancer has been reported, as demonstrated in Sweden ⁽¹⁾, where women aged 10 to 30 who received the tetravalent vaccine were evaluated; the prevention of “cervical cancer” was notable, being even greater at younger ages at vaccination, reaching a RR = 0.12 in those under 17 years of age. Vaccinated women have a lower risk of cervical cancer and likely should not follow the exact same screening schedules as unvaccinated women.