Vaccines against human papillomavirus: perspectives for controlling cervical cancer

Abstract

Prophylactic vaccines against human papillomavirus (HPV) are on the market and will certainly reduce the incidence of genital warts and the risk of developing cervical cancer. In addition, they will contribute to reducing anal as well as head and neck cancers. However, effort should be made in the short term in order for these vaccines to have a real impact in the developing world, where almost 80% of cervical cancer cases occur. Since the available vaccines include only two of the HPV types found in cancers (approximately 70%), improvements in current mass screening programs – with the use of molecular techniques – must be made, particularly in developing countries. Therapeutic vaccines have been designed to control advanced lesions and residual illness and, although success has usually been obtained in animal models, clinical studies have not yet provided the anticipated results. Finally, the next generations of prophylactic HPV vaccines will probably include subunit vaccines, transgenic bacteria and plants, among others, and could represent useful and cheaper alternatives for reducing cervical cancer, particularly in the developing world.

Keywords::

• cervical cancer
• human papillomavirus
• immunity
• vaccination strategies
• vaccines

Acknowledgements

We thank Guadalupe Peñaloza for secretarial assistance; and Instituto Nacional de Cancerología SS, and Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México for continuous support. Work in our group has been supported by grants from CONACYT (grant No 44017 to Alejandro García Carrancá), Grant no. 6579/A-I, and PAPIIT (IN214105 and IN217398 to Alejandro García Carrancá).

Financial disclosure

Alejandro García Carrancá is a consultant and member of the Advisory Board of MSD and GSK, Mexico.