Cervical cancer vaccine deemed safe
Wednesday December 3rd, 2008
By Jane Collingwood
Serious reactions to the new human papillomavirus vaccine are rare, experts have found.
The vaccine is now being given to help protect school-age girls against future cervical cancer. Dr Sharon Choo and colleagues from the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, carried out an evaluation of a "quadrivalent" form of the vaccine used in Australia.
On the website of the British Medical Journal, they write that from April 2007, all females aged 12 to 26 years received the vaccine as part of a national secondary school immunisation programme. More than 380,000 doses were given.
Following reports of adverse events, the team evaluated 25 girls with suspected hypersensitivity reactions including urticaria (hives), rash, angioedema (swelling under the skin) and anaphylaxis.
Of the 25 girls, 19 were given skin testing of the vaccine and all were negative. Of the 18 girls given a further dose, 17 tolerated it well. Just one developed hives four hours later.
The experts state: "Only three of the 25 girls were found to have probable hypersensitivity to the quadrivalent vaccine.
"Our data suggest that true hypersensitivity to the quadrivalent vaccine is uncommon and that suspected hypersensitivity reactions such as urticaria are often idiosyncratic and not usually a contraindication to further vaccinations."
They also point out that studies of other vaccines have found that most reactions after immunisation are not due to hypersensitivity and revaccination is usually well tolerated.
They recommend that girls with suspected hypersensitivity to the vaccine should be evaluated before receiving more doses, and supervised when they are given. "Further studies are required to investigate the mechanisms of hypersensitivity to this vaccine," they conclude.
Kang, L. W. et al. Human papillomavirus vaccine hypersensitivity reactions: retrospective cohort study in Australia. The British Medical Journal, 2008;337:a2642.
Tags: Australia | Cancer | Child Health | Women’s Health & Gynaecology
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