AGL 40.00 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
AIRLINK 132.66 Increased By ▲ 3.13 (2.42%)
BOP 6.89 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (3.14%)
CNERGY 4.57 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-1.3%)
DCL 8.92 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.22%)
DFML 42.75 Increased By ▲ 1.06 (2.54%)
DGKC 84.00 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (0.27%)
FCCL 32.90 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (0.4%)
FFBL 77.06 Increased By ▲ 1.59 (2.11%)
FFL 12.20 Increased By ▲ 0.73 (6.36%)
HUBC 110.01 Decreased By ▼ -0.54 (-0.49%)
HUMNL 14.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.16 (-1.1%)
KEL 5.53 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (2.6%)
KOSM 8.32 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.95%)
MLCF 39.67 Decreased By ▼ -0.12 (-0.3%)
NBP 65.50 Increased By ▲ 5.21 (8.64%)
OGDC 198.74 Decreased By ▼ -0.92 (-0.46%)
PAEL 26.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.65 (-2.44%)
PIBTL 7.62 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.52%)
PPL 159.00 Increased By ▲ 1.08 (0.68%)
PRL 26.24 Decreased By ▼ -0.49 (-1.83%)
PTC 18.35 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-0.6%)
SEARL 82.24 Decreased By ▼ -0.20 (-0.24%)
TELE 8.12 Decreased By ▼ -0.19 (-2.29%)
TOMCL 34.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-0.32%)
TPLP 8.98 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.88%)
TREET 16.88 Decreased By ▼ -0.59 (-3.38%)
TRG 59.49 Decreased By ▼ -1.83 (-2.98%)
UNITY 27.52 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (0.33%)
WTL 1.40 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (1.45%)
BR100 10,614 Increased By 206.9 (1.99%)
BR30 31,874 Increased By 160.5 (0.51%)
KSE100 98,972 Increased By 1644 (1.69%)
KSE30 30,784 Increased By 591.7 (1.96%)

Vaccines designed to prevent infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) are effective in protecting against pre-cancerous cervical lesions in women, particularly in those vaccinated between age 15 and 26, according to a large international evidence review.
The research by scientists at the respected scientific network the Cochrane Review also found no increase in the risk of serious side effects, with rates of around 7 percent reported by both HPV-vaccinated and control groups.
"This review should reassure people that HPV vaccination is effective," Jo Morrison, a consultant in gynecological oncology at Britain's Musgrove Park Hospital, told reporters at a briefing about the review's findings.
She noted that some campaign groups have expressed concern about HPV vaccines, but said this review had found no evidence to support claims of increased risk of harm.
HPV is one of the common sexually transmitted diseases. Most infections do not cause symptoms and go away on their own, but when the immune system does not clear the virus, persistent HPV infection can cause abnormal cervical cells.
These pre-cancerous lesions can progress to cervical cancer if left untreated. HPV is a leading cause of cancer deaths among women worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
Drugmakers GlaxoSmithKline and Merck & Co make vaccines that protect against HPV. The Cochrane research pooled data and results from 26 studies involving more than 73,000 women across all continents over the last eight years.
The researchers found that in young women who tested negative for HPV, vaccination reduced the risk of developing precancer. About 164 out of every 10,000 women who got placebo developed cervical pre-cancerous lesions, compared with two out of every 10,000 who were vaccinated.
Looking more broadly across all women in the studies, regardless of whether they had previously had HPV or not, the vaccines were found to be slightly less effective, but still reduced the risk of cervical precancer from 559 per 10,000 to 391 per 10,000.
Experts not directly involved in the review said its findings were robust and important.
"This intensive and rigorous Cochrane analysis ... provides reassuring and solid evidence of the safety of these vaccines in young women," said Margaret Stanley, a specialist in the pathology department at Cambridge University.
"It reinforces the evidence that preventing infection by vaccination in young women reduces cervical precancers dramatically."

Copyright Reuters, 2018

Comments

Comments are closed.