BOYS SHOULD be included in the recently introduced national HPV vaccination programme which aims to reduce the risk of cervical cancer in Ireland, according to the majority of women questioned so far in a study.
Overall, support for the vaccine, which guards against 70 per cent of cervical cancer strains, is very high among women of all ages, according to the survey by the National Cancer Registry and Trinity College Dublin .
Some 72 per cent of women said the benefits of the vaccine outweighed safety concerns, but over a quarter – some 28 per cent – disagreed. Just 15 per cent believed girls who received the vaccine would be more likely to have unprotected sex.
Overall, 88 per cent of respondents said boys should also be included in the national vaccination programme to help prevent transmission of the virus.
While several countries such as the UK, US, Australia and Ireland have licensed the Gardasil vaccine for use in both sexes, generally it is not considered cost effective to include boys in vaccination programmes. The Irish Medicines Board said it has no knowledge of any uptake of the vaccine among boys here. The vaccination of girls, aged 12-13 years old, began earlier this year.
More than 5,500 questionnaires on HPV, or the human papilloma virus, were distributed to women aged 20-64 years by the researchers in August and September to gauge their knowledge, attitudes and views on HPV infection and vaccination.
The findings from 439 questionnaires analysed to date were presented at an all-Ireland cancer research conference in Dublin yesterday.
Some 90 per cent said the vaccination programme provides an opportunity to discuss sexual issues with girls, but 22 per cent felt young girls might find getting the vaccine too painful.
When the women surveyed for this research were asked 10 factual questions in relation to HPV, just 38 per cent could answer more than six correctly.The study’s authors said the findings suggested some gaps in women’s knowledge of HPV infection and vaccination, especially among less educated and younger women.
“These women may benefit from targeted education and information initiatives about HPV and the HPV vaccine.”
They added: “Attitudes towards the HPV vaccination programme were generally very positive. However, support for the inclusion of boys in the programme was high, which could prove a challenge to the national vaccination programme.”
The women surveyed were randomly selected from 19 general practices and three Well Woman clinics. Ofthe women surveyed, 7 per cent never had smear tests, which are important for detecting early stage cervical cancers.
Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women under 45, claiming 70 lives a year in the Republic. Some 180 new cases are diagnosed each year.
A separate study presented at the conference found women who skip BreastCheck screening rounds are more likely to present with larger, higher grade breast cancer tumours. Women aged 50 to 64 years are invited for screening every two years under the national breast cancer screening programme.
When more than 19,000 women who had initially attended for breast screening between 2000 and 2009 and then skipped a screening were eventually screened, some 200 cancers were detected, which was higher than among groups of women who attended all screenings.