Cervical cancer prevention strategies gain important reinforcement this month. The immunizer Gardasil 9, manufactured by MSD Brasil, begins to be sold in private vaccination clinics.
Cervical cancer is the third most common type of tumor among women in Brazil. For 2023, the National Cancer Institute (Inca) projects the emergence of 17,000 new cases of the disease.
Vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) is considered an extremely effective strategy in fighting tumors. Indicated for boys and girls, men and women from 9 to 45 years old, the new vaccine protects against the four genotypes already contained in the previous version of the immunizer Gardasil (6, 11, 16 and 18) and against five additional ones (31, 33, 45 , 52, 58).
Studies indicate that these five new subtypes are responsible for a 20% increase in cases of cervical cancer, in addition to the 70% caused by the 4 subtypes contained in the quadrivalent vaccine. The 9 virus subtypes are also responsible for 85% of cases of vaginal cancer.
defense antibodies
MSD medical director, Marcia Datz Abadi, points out that vaccination against HPV is more effective when it occurs in childhood, as it induces the production of more antibodies and guarantees protection against the virus before contact with it, also reducing the transmission.
“Vaccinating girls and boys against HPV is a significant advance on the road to eradicating cervical cancer, but it is still new. There is an entire generation of women, now in adulthood, who did not have access to the vaccine as teenagers”, says Marcia.
Because it is a sexually transmitted infection (STI), the taboos surrounding HPV and the lack of information about its relationship with the development of tumors means that many women arrive at the office with lesions in an advanced stage.
According to Marcia, in most cases, these lesions are caused by persistent infections that were not properly diagnosed or treated and ended up evolving.
“As, most of the time, this type of tumor does not show symptoms in the early stages, many women are diagnosed when the cancer is already advanced”, says the professional.
The doctor points out that vaccination against HPV, associated with screening for precancerous lesions in women through the Papanicolaou test, can significantly reduce the incidence of cervical cancer.
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