Review: vaccines against human papillomavirus prevent cervical cancer precursors in young women
L Rambout
Correspondence to: Ms L Rambout, Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; lrambout@ottawahospital.on.ca
QUESTION
Do vaccines against human papillomavirus (HPV) prevent cervical cancer precursors in young women?
METHODS
Data sources:
Medline and EMBASE/Excerpta Medica (to May 2007); Medline in process (to June 2007); Cochrane Library and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Issue 1, 2007); conference proceedings (2004–7); clinical trial registers; Google Scholar; public health announcements; reference lists; and vaccine manufacturers.
Study selection and assessment:
randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared a vaccine against ⩾1 oncogenic type of HPV with placebo or no HPV vaccine for prophylaxis of oncogenic HPV-related infection and disease in women. 9 reports of 6 RCTs (n = 40 323; mean age 20 y, range 15–26 y) met the selection criteria. 1 RCT (n = 2392) evaluated a monovalent HPV 16 vaccine, 2 RCTs …
