Ask Dr. K: HPV vaccine has proven benefits

DEAR DOCTOR K: My daughter’s pediatrician would like her to have the HPV vaccine. I’m not sure. Is there evidence the HPV vaccine has some real benefit?

DEAR READER: Yes, there is evidence – overwhelming evidence. And with this vaccine, the benefit is not that it will reduce the risk of a short-lived illness, like the flu. This vaccine will reduce your daughter’s risk of getting a common and life-threatening cancer.

Human papillomavirus is the main cause of cervical cancer and genital warts. The linkage of this virus to cancer, and the ability of a vaccine against the virus to reduce the risk of cancer, are solidly established. So much so, in fact, that the discovery of HPV’s connection to cervical cancer was honored with the Nobel Prize.

Vaccination is recommended for girls aged 11 to 12 years. But it may be given as early as age 9. The vaccine is also recommended for females 13 to 26 who did not get the vaccine earlier. The vaccine is given as three injections over a six-month period.

Based on conversations I’ve had with my pediatrician colleagues, I’d guess your concerns have to do either with either safety or sexual behavior.

The HPV vaccine has already had a big impact. A study published in 2013 showed that since doctors began to routinely give the HPV vaccine in 2006, the occurrence of the cancer-causing HPV strains covered by the vaccine has dropped by 56 percent in girls ages 14 to 19 years.

Remember, though, that the vaccine does not protect against all types of HPV. It is not an absolute guarantee against cervical cancer. As your daughter gets older, she still should get screened for cervical cancer even if she has the HPV vaccine.

The bottom line is that a series of three shots will protect your daughter from a form of cancer that can cause premature death. That’s a gift any parent would want to give his or her child.