Leveraging single-dose human papillomavirus vaccination dose-efficiency to attain cervical cancer elimination in resource-constrained settings

In a new paper, researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) show that adopting a single-dose schedule for vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV), combined with different resource reallocation strategies, can accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer. The paper is part of a special issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute Monographs, published to coincide with the 36th International Papillomavirus Conference (IPVC), which is taking place in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, on 12–15 November 2024.

The researchers found that improving the coverage of the current vaccination programme by reallocating resources could help to attain cervical cancer elimination in India and across all states of Brazil, but not in Rwanda unless the nonavalent vaccine is introduced. The single-dose strategy would lead to estimated savings over 10 years of US$ 435 million in India, US$ 156 million in Brazil, and US$ 12 million in Rwanda. These substantial savings mean that resources could be reallocated to vaccinate more people.

The research team obtained these findings by estimating the impact that a single-dose schedule could have in these three countries, using simulations adapted to country-specific data and scenarios for single-dose protection derived from a previous trial led by IARC in India. The team also explored different resource reallocation strategies based on dose efficiency, elimination attainment, and cervical cancer cases prevented, with the existing two-dose programme as a comparator.

India, Brazil, and Rwanda are examples of countries with different profiles of cervical cancer risk and varying vaccination timelines. In low- and middle-income countries, resource constraints remain a critical factor that limits access to cervical cancer preventive measures. For countries where the burden of cervical cancer is still high and a large proportion of the population is unvaccinated, the option of single-dose HPV vaccination holds great potential to strengthen the efforts towards cervical cancer elimination.

Man I, Georges D, Basu P, Baussano I.
Leveraging single-dose human papillomavirus vaccination dose-efficiency to attain cervical cancer elimination in resource-constrained settings
J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr. Published online 12 November 2024;
https://doi.org/10.1093/jncimonographs/lgae035

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