asiaonehealth
April 25, 2009
By Dr Ang Peng Tiam
Recently, many patients, friends and acquaintances have asked me about ‘the cancer vaccine”. It seems to work like magic: take a shot and you will be protected from cervical cancer.
For me, the answer is quite straightforward. However, if it is such a no-brainer, why is there some reluctance to having compulsory vaccination of pre-teens?
First, we must recognise that it is true that women with many sex partners are at increased risk of getting cancer of the cervix. The causative agent in 90 per cent of cervical cancer patients is the human papilloma virus (HPV). There are many strains of HPV infections and some of the ones more commonly associated with cervical cancer are subtypes 16, 18, 31 and 45.
Establishing the link between HPV infection and cervical cancer and the discovery of not one but two vaccines against HPV have opened up one more strategy for tackling this cancer.
If all women were vaccinated against HPV before they become sexually active, the prevalence of HPV infection in the vaccinated community would be lowered. In turn, the risk of getting HPV-related cervical cancer would also diminish.
All this stems from the fact that HPV infection is a sexually transmitted disease. Women who have only one sex partner are relatively safe. Whether they acquire HPV infection depends largely on whether the male partner is infected or not. In other words, no sex equals no infection.
So, here is the difficult question. By vaccinating young girls at the age of 12 or 14, are we sending the correct message?
Let’s not forget that ours is a relatively conservative society. By vaccinating them at that age, are we indirectly saying that it is all right for them to engage in sexual activity? Isn’t there a law against having sex with a minor (anyone below the age of 16)?
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