Vaccination and early detection prevent Human Papillomavirus

Asuncion, IP Agency.- The Ministry of Public Health warns of the vital importance of preventing the Human Papillomavirus disease, a group of more than 100 types of viruses that affect men and women, with timely vaccination and early detection. Each year, some 527,100 cases of HPV-related cancer are reported in women and 33,800 in men.

The Ministry of Health, through the Expanded Immunization Program, has updated its HPV vaccination schedule and announced that, starting in August of this year, a new single-dose schedule will be implemented for girls and will include 10-year-old boys.

The new guidelines include the introduction of a single dose of HPV vaccine for immunocompetent children born in 2014.

However, three doses are maintained for those with compromised immune systems. Also, during 2024, girls aged 9 to 18 who have not been previously vaccinated will be vaccinated with a single dose of the quadrivalent HPV vaccine, in compliance with recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Technical Advisory Committee on Immunizations (COTENAI), based on international evidence.

Cervical cancer is the eighth most common type of cancer in the world’s population and, in Paraguay, it is the second most common cancer among women, after breast cancer. In Paraguay, almost 60% of the population with cervical cancer is diagnosed in advanced stages.

It says that long-term infections with high-risk HPV can cause cancer in the parts of the body where the virus infects squamous cells, which are thin, flat cells that line the inside of organs.

Most HPV-related cancers are squamous cell carcinomas. Some arise from HPV infection in the glandular cells of the cervix and are called adenocarcinomas.

Some cervical cancers arise from HPV infection in the glandular cells of the cervix, and are called adenocarcinomas, the health ministry explains.

HPV causes almost all cervical cancers. Routine screening tests (HPV test or Pap test) prevent most of these cancers because they allow doctors to find and remove precancerous cells before they become cancerous.

This type of cancer is more common in women who never or rarely get screened.

Oropharyngeal cancer (also called throat cancer) forms in the tissues of the oropharynx (the middle part of the throat behind the mouth) and is caused by HPV in 70% of cases. It should not be confused with oral cavity cancer, which forms in the mouth, and both are types of head and neck cancer.

Penile cancer is caused by HPV in the majority of cases, 63%. Public Health indicates that this type of cancer is rare and usually appears in the foreskin or under it.

Likewise, vaginal cancer is caused by HPV in 75% of cases and is rare; while 69% of cases of vulvar cancer and more than 90% of anal cancers are caused by it, the number of cases is increasing, as are deaths, according to Public Health.

Men are the main carriers of HPV, and one of the objectives of including this sector of the population in the scheme is to contribute to gender equity, as well as to decrease the incidence of cervical cancer, reduce papillomatous lesions and prevent conditions and cancers associated with HPV in men.

In 2012, Paraguay introduced the tetravalent vaccine against HPV 6, 11, 16 and 18 (Gardasil), administered intramuscularly, which is still used today.