As of: February 18, 2024, 6:53 a.m
By: Bettina Menzel
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Only a few cancers are caused by genes.
Many other factors play a role.
Early HPV vaccination helps against cervical cancer.
Edinburgh – Over 200,000 people die of cancer in Germany every year.
Around 500,000 become ill again.
The risk can be reduced with a healthy lifestyle, but vaccination also helps against certain types of cancer: human papilloma viruses, or HPV for short, are transmitted through sex and can cause, among other things, uterine cancer or cancer of the oropharynx.
Scotland was one of the first countries in the world to introduce HPV vaccination for teenagers back in 2007.
With success: According to a long-term study, none of the women who were vaccinated at the age of 12 or 13 developed cancer.
Stiko recommends that young people be vaccinated against human papilloma viruses.
© Pnd5 Images/Imago
Scientific studies show: HPV vaccination significantly reduces the risk of cervical cancer
The HPV vaccine prevents the development of invasive cervical cancer, the researchers found in the study.
It has also become clear “that just one or two doses given one month apart can be beneficial when administered between the ages of 12 and 13.” At older ages, three doses are required for the vaccine to be statistically significant, he said the scientists continue.
Women from “disadvantaged areas” in particular would benefit more from the vaccination, it was said.
Scotland had already established vaccination against HPV in 2007, reports the
German Medical Journal.
About the study
The study “Invasive cervical cancer incidence following bivalent human papillomavirus vaccination: a population-based observational study of age at immunization, dose, and deprivation” by the authors Tim J Palmer, Kimberley Kavanagh, Kate Cuschieri et al.
appeared on January 22, 2024 in the medical journal
Journal of the National Cancer Institute JNCI
.
Link to the study
A study had previously shown similar results for the whole of Great Britain.
The British National Health Service (NHS) introduced the HPV vaccination for girls and boys between the ages of 12 and 13 years ago.
Although boys cannot get cervical cancer, vaccination is still recommended for them.
On the one hand because they can be carriers, on the other hand because they can result in other types of cancer.
Cervical cancer cases fell by 87 percent after vaccination, a study published in the medical journal
The Lancet
showed.
The EU Commission wants to advance the fight against cancer through HPV vaccination
The EU Commission recently campaigned for more vaccinations against cancer.
The aim is for nine out of ten eligible girls and a significant proportion of boys to be vaccinated against HPV by 2030, the authority said.
The numbers should also improve in early detection.
“Less than 50 percent of women between the ages of 50 and 69, the age group targeted by the screening programs, have had a mammogram in the last two years,” said EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides, who said she herself is suffering from cancer.
Vaccinations could also have a major effect in Germany: According to the Robert Koch Institute, over 6,000 women and around 1,600 men develop HPV-related cancer every year.
According to the German Cancer Aid, many other types of cancer can be prevented through a healthy lifestyle.
The biggest risk factors include smoking, obesity, lack of exercise, UV rays, high alcohol consumption or an unhealthy diet with little fruit, vegetables or fiber and often a high proportion of red and processed meat.
It is estimated that only five to ten percent of all cancers are caused by a hereditary predisposition.