Women may get HPV protection from fewer than three doses of vaccine

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that the human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted disease (STD). There are several different strains of this disease, it can be transmitted very easily and it can potentially cause cervical cancer. This has lead researchers to work to develop effective medications and vaccines to treat the virus.

Recently, researchers have discovered that fewer than three doses of the HPV vaccine Cervarix could be as effective in preventing the development of cervical cancer as previous treatment methods that require more. Scientists examined women who did not get all doses due to pregnancy or other conditions. They found that women who only got one or two shots showed similar levels of protection against the disease as women who received all three.

"Our clinical efficacy data provide suggestive evidence that an HPV vaccine program that provides fewer doses to more women could potentially reduce cervical cancer incidence more than a standard three-dose program that uses the same total number of doses but in fewer women," said researchers.

The scientists cautioned that more research needs to be done to determine if one or two doses is really as effective as three. If this turns out to be true, then it may end up costing less to protect more women from this potentially deadly STD.