Synonyms in a broader sense
Cancer at the entrance to the uterus, uterine cancer.
Vaccination recommendation of the permanent vaccination commission (STIKO)
Since 2014, the Permanent Vaccination Commission of the Robert Koch Institute has been recommending that all girls between the ages of 9 and 14 be vaccinated with the bi- or tetravalent vaccine against human papilloma viruses before the first sexual intercourse. If the vaccination was missed during this age period, it can be made up for by the age of 18 at the latest. Women from other age groups or women who were already sexually active at the time of vaccination can also benefit from the vaccination if the infection has not yet occurred.
Vaccines
Currently, two common cervical cancer vaccines are being tested in use, although they differ in their spectrum of activity. Both are produced using genetically modified insect or yeast cells and contain only non-infectious virus shells (dead vaccine) and not the virus itself. A distinction is made between the bivalent (divalent) vaccine (Cervarix®), which has been administered since 2007 and is only effective against the two main risk HPV types 16 and 18, and the tetravalent (tetravalent) vaccine (Gardasil®), which has been administered since 2006 and also prevents infection with HPV types 6 and 11 (these two viruses usually cause genital warts in men and women, but less so in the development of cancer). The vaccination is usually administered into the muscles of the upper arm by the family doctor or gynaecologist, and a second vaccination is mandatory after about 6 months. If the patient is >13 or >14 years old or if the interval between the two vaccinations is >6 months, a third follow-up dose must be administered.
Effect
According to recent studies, the currently available vaccines have an almost 100% effectiveness against the respective HPV types covered by the vaccination. After the injection of the vaccine, the body’s own immune system forms antibodies against the respective virus envelopes, so that in the event of a future infection, the viruses can be successfully detected and fought. The vaccinated women therefore show no evidence of virus or malignant changes in the cervix within the next 5 following years.
Recent studies have even shown that in some cases the vaccines protect against other cancer-causing HPV types (e.g. HPV 45 and 31), although the vaccine does not target them directly. It is suspected that this overarching protective reaction is due to the similar virus structure, which leads to the vaccine causing the immune system to recognize other viruses in addition to HPV 6, 11, 16 and 18. Whether the effect of the vaccination wears off after 5 years and therefore a further booster of the vaccination may be necessary after 5 years cannot be assessed with certainty at present. Large-scale studies are investigating the question of the duration of protection.
