Skip to main content
CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal logoLink to CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal
letter
. 2017 Jan 23;189(3):E118. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.732446

Supporting the call for a gender-neutral human papillomavirus vaccination in Canada

Cyra Patel 1, Kristine Macartney 2
PMCID: PMC5250520  PMID: 28246156

We commend Shapiro and colleagues1 on their recent policy analysis of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for males in Canada and their call for gender-neutral programs in all provinces and territories.

Australia has the highest uptake of HPV vaccine in males at a country-level worldwide; we write to add evidence that may inform Canada’s approach. Quadrivalent HPV vaccine was included for males under the Australian National Immunisation Program from February 2013, following introduction for females in 2007. Australia’s nationally centralized systems for economic assessment and vaccine procurement facilitate program decisions: inclusion was deemed cost-effective, albeit at an undisclosed price.2

The gender-neutral HPV vaccination program received support even before the female vaccination program commenced.3 Uptake in males was high in the first year of the additional program and has increased: 77.0%, 74.0% and 66.4% of boys turning 15 years of age had received one, two and three doses, respectively, by 2015.4 HPV vaccination coverage for females has also increased by about 6% since male immunization was funded (from 71.0% to 77.4% for three-dose coverage between 2013 and 2015).4 Targeting all young people allows more consistent framing of HPV vaccination as a cancer prevention strategy and has likely somewhat negated the vaccine resistance observed in Australia and in other countries. A strong communications strategy, together with strengthening vaccine safety surveillance,5 has also facilitated vaccine uptake.

Increasing recognition and incidence of HPV-related diseases like anal and oropharyngeal cancers6 and growing evidence of vaccine immunogenicity, safety and efficacy in males from clinical trials7 underpins establishment of equitable HPV vaccination programs. Reliance on herd immunity from a female HPV vaccination program to protect males against HPV-associated disease is arguably unethical, particularly in the context of demonstrated cost-effectiveness in high-income countries. We fully support our colleagues in their efforts to advocate for equitable HPV vaccination throughout Canada.

References

  • 1.Shapiro GK, Perez S, Rosberger Z. Rosberger. Including males in Canadian human papillomavirus vaccination programs: a policy analysis. CMAJ 2016; 188:881–6. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 2.Georgousakis M, Jayasinghe S, Brotherton J, et al. Population-wide vaccination against human papillomavirus in adolescent boys: Australia as a case study. Lancet Infect Dis 2012;12:627–34. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 3.Marshall H, Ryan P, Roberton D, et al. A cross-sectional survey to assess community attitudes to introduction of human papillomavirus vaccine. Aust N Z J Public Health 2007;31:235–42. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 4.National HPV Vaccination Program Register. Coverage data. Canberra (AU): Australian Government, Department of Health; 2016. Available: www.hpvregister.org.au/research/coverage-data (accessed 2016 June 27). [Google Scholar]
  • 5.Enhanced school-based surveillance of acute adverse events following immunisation with human papillomavirus vaccine in males and females, 2013. Canberra (AU): Australian Government, Department of Health, Therapeutic Goods Administration; 2015. [Google Scholar]
  • 6.Chaturvedi AK, Anderson WF, Lortet-Tieulent J, et al. Worldwide trends in incidence rates for oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers. J Clin Oncol 2013;31: 4550–9. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 7.Goldstone SE, Jessen H, Palefsky JM, et al. Quadrivalent HPV vaccine efficacy against disease related to vaccine and non-vaccine HPV types in males. Vaccine 2013;31:3849–55. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal are provided here courtesy of Canadian Medical Association

RESOURCES