How much cervical cancer in Australia is vaccine preventable? A meta-analysis

SummaryThis study aimed to estimate the proportion of cervical cancer attributable to high risk HPV types covered by the prophylactic HPV vaccines (HPV types 16 and 18) in Australia. By applying a systematic search strategy and established inclusion criteria, seven studies containing 553 cervical cancers were identified for inclusion. The most frequent types identified were HPV16 (60.4%), HPV18 (19.7%) and HPV45 (4.6%). Overall 80.1% (95%CI 72.7–87.8%) contained types 16 or 18. Removing 13 cancers with both types, an HPV16/18 vaccine could have prevented 77.7% of cervical cancers. This finding implies that Australia may have more to gain from the adoption of currently formulated HPV vaccines than other countries.