Preventing cervical cancer with the HPV vaccine

Is it risky to vaccinate girls so young?
For parents who worry about overvaccinating their child, Dr. Joanne Embree, vice president of the Canadian Pediatric Society, says complications from the vaccine are very low. "We use less antigen to vaccinate infants and children than we did even 10 years ago, so the risk [of overvaccinating] is minimal," she explains. Immediate side effects from the vaccine were also minimal: soreness at the injection site and muscle tenderness were the most common.

Dr. Embree supports the vaccine in preadolescent girls in spite of the question of its effectiveness past five years. "Young women who acquire HPV in their teens and early 20s are at an increased risk of cervical cell changes and eventually cancer," she says. "Giving the vaccine to preadolescents protects them in a five-year period when they are at the highest risk of adverse consequences. Even if the vaccine does not last [past five years], the benefits are still very substantial."

However, Judy McEachern of Alliston, Ont., a mother of two daughters aged 12 and 15, has very deep concerns about the vaccine's short study period -- subjects were followed for an average of 17 months. "We have no proof of long-term side effects," she says. "If this was something they had studied over 25 years I would feel a lot more comfortable giving it to my girls."

McEachern is also concerned with the implications the vaccine has for young girls, as not all of them will have supportive families to help them understand the issue of sexuality and disease.

In addition, Dr. Lefebvre says it's important to clarify that the HPV vaccine doesn't protect women against other STIs and pregnancy -- and it's still paramount for women, vaccinated or not, to have regular (usually annual) Pap tests to be sure there is no abnormal cell growth.

A good time to discuss sexuality
Regardless of whether parents choose to vaccinate their daughters, both Dr. Lefebvre and Dr. Embree urge parents to take advantage of the issue of the HPV vaccine to talk to their daughters about sexuality, dating, adolescent issues such as drugs and alcohol and an overall healthy lifestyle. "It's hard for parents to comprehend that their nine-year-old daughter is going to have sex, but sooner or later they're going to get there," says Dr. Embree. "Parents can't control who their girls will fall in love with."

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