“Starting next school year, for every 5thwe are going to generalize vaccination”said the head of state during a meeting with students in a college in Charente on Tuesday. “It helps prevent a lot of cancers. Many countries have done it.”
The vaccination against the papillomavirus will not be compulsory and parental consent will be required. Prescription and vaccination can be carried out by pharmacists, nurses and midwives.
This announcement comes a few days before the World Awareness Day around diseases induced by the human papillomavirus (HPV). The opportunity to come back to this virus still too little known.
What is the papillomavirus?
The human papillomavirus is a family of viruses that cause sexually transmitted infections (STI) and, in the most severe cases, cancers.
The vast majority of the infected population (80%) gets rid of it spontaneously. Others will incorporate it and keep it for life.
HPVs are responsible for 2,900 cancers of the cervix causing more than 1,000 deaths per year, 1,500 cancers of the ENT sphere, 1,500 cancers of the anus, 200 cancers of the vulva or vagina and a hundred cancers of the penis. .
These cancers would be totally eliminable through screening and vaccination, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
How is it transmitted?
The virus is very contagious and the condom does not fully protect. Indeed, secretions can be deposited on the body just with caresses.
Contamination is therefore possible via genital areas not covered by the condom. Transmission can also occur through contaminated objects (sex toys).
Remember that the condom remains essential for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Does this also apply to men?
Anyone who is sexually active, male or female, can catch the virus. HPV is responsible for multiple cancers in humans: anus, oropharynx, oral cavity, larynx, penis…
The vaccine applies to both girls and boys. Recommended in France since 2008 for young girls, vaccination against HPV is included in the vaccination schedule for all young boys since 2020.
As for girls, the vaccine consists of two doses to be injected between 11 and 15 years of age. Catch-up is possible between 15 and 19 years of age with three doses as well as up to 26 years for men who have sex with men.
There are several vaccines (Gardasil and Cervarix) that protect against the most oncogenic variants (which comes from a virus that can trigger the onset of cancer).
Covered by health insurance, vaccination can be carried out by a doctor or a midwife, a nurse (on prescription from a doctor or a midwife) or in a free information, screening and diagnosis (Cegidd), a family planning center and some public vaccination centres.
Fin 2021, 45.8% of 15-year-old girls had received a dose of vaccine, and only 6% of boys of the same age, while the ten-year cancer control strategy 2021-2030 aims for a target of 80% within seven years.
How to get tested?
Only one screening exists and only concerns women: the smearwhich allows the removal of superficial cells by light rubbing in the vagina.
Cet examination is recommended from the age of 25 then once every two years until age 29, once every three years from age 30 to 35 and once every five years until age 65.
The smear can in particular be carried out by a gynecologist or a midwife.
What happens if the smear is positive?
There may be very slight lesions (condyloma) which can be treated with creams or laser.
If the results are poor, a colposcopy (examination of the cervix) should be performed. Then it will be necessary to carry out a biopsy, that is to say to take samples of the cervix for analysis.
In the event of low-grade lesions, it will simply be necessary to monitor with a smear one year later.
For high-grade lesions, it is possible to undergo cervical surgery called conisationwhich involves removing lesions that can develop into cancer.
What about screening for men?
To date, there is no HPV screening in men.
The progression of the virus can therefore evolve silently unless certain symptoms give warningsuch as warts on the penis or anus, swallowing problems or loss of voice.