HPV Vaccine: Most Primary Care Physicians Intend to Offer HPV Vaccine to Prevent Cervical Cancer
The most common sexually-transmitted disease is HPV (human papillomavirus) which eventually infects more than 50% of all sexually active adults. According to a recent presentation at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, unresolved HPV is the most important predictor of high-grade cervical cancer precursors. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the first HPV vaccine for use in females 9-26 years old. According to the FDA press release, the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) states, "Today is an important day for public health and for women's health, and for our continued fight against serious life-threatening diseases like cervical cancer. HHS is committed to advancing critical health measures such as the development of new and promising vaccines to protect and advance the health of all Americans."
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) published guidelines regarding the HPV vaccine for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in August 2006. According to recent studies presented to the American Public Health Association, most primary care physicians intend to offer the vaccine to their patients. About two-thirds of women patients indicated that they would be likely to get the vaccine, if available.
According the the executive director of the American Public Health Association, communication challenges are associated with delivering the HPV vaccine. Dr. Georges Benjamin stated, "I think the biggest issue is putting this vaccine into perspective for patients. This is really a cancer prevention vaccine. Physicians need to help patients understand the importance of this." The second challenge, Dr. Benjamin said, is communicating with parents. "Parents need to understand no one is saying their children are going to be engaging in premature sexual activity" if a child receives the HPV vaccine, he said. "Clearly parents still need to talk to their children about [sexually transmitted infections]. But the truth of the matter is parents and physicians should be having that discussion at earlier ages anyway."
Dr. Benjamin stressed that it is healthcare providers' responsibility to present the HPV vaccine in the appropriate context. "This is an anticancer vaccine, and physicians should explain it in that manner," he said. "I just can't argue strongly enough that from everything we know about this vaccine it seems to be a safe, effective, and reasonable approach to preventing cervical cancer. But it is part of a tool kit — it does not substitute for routine physical examinations and for regular Pap smears."