Vaccine for Boys against HPV Is Not Cost-effective
One of the main cervical cancer triggering factors is the human papillomavirus which is a sexually transmitted viral infection. Nowadays, communities draw the attention on the importance of vaccination in order to counteract the negative effects of this virus. The targeted persons are the little girls that have not reached yet the teenager stage. Vaccinating them proved to be a good idea, taking into consideration the cost incurred by this process. However, looking at the idea of vaccinating American boys the actual worth remains unknown.
A team of researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health underwent a study and discovered that vaccinating young girls represents a cost-effective and efficient method to counteract the human papillomavirus. On the contrast, even if it is kind of recommended to vaccinate pre-adolescent boys against this viral infection, the team of investigators found out that this process is not as cost-effective as it in the case of the female population. Moreover the necessary resources to provide little boys with vaccines against the human papillomavirus do not bring the same added value as it does in the girls` case.
The research of the team of investigators from the Harvard School of Public Health is released in the October 9 issue of the online version of the British Medical Journal. In a short period of time the printed variant is expected. The investigation study came to life thanks to the grants offered by various institutions such as: the National Cancer Institute, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Cancer Society.
The United States Food and Drug Administration is taking into consideration to make available the vaccine against the human papillomavirus to the young American boys. Nonetheless, there are several states that have licensed this vaccine in order to treat the pre-adolescent boys.
The study`s leading author, professor Jane Kim states that if the United States decide to license the human papillomavirus vaccine on its territory, the policy decision-makers will have to take into account if they should or should not recommend this type of vaccine to America`s pre-adolescent boys. In order to determine whether vaccinating young males represents a cost-effective process the costs incurred for vaccinating both young boys and girls must be compared to those incurred in the case of providing vaccination only to the girls. In addition, health related costs need to be assessed as well for both of the situations presented above.
In order to help the policymakers, both Professor Kim and colleague Sue Goldie assessed the information regarding epidemics, clinical data and economic notions related to the infections and cervical cancers linked to the human papillomavirus. Due to the fact that it takes a lot of time to actually observe the health and prevention effects vaccination against this viral infection has in young girls, the two investigators used disease patterns developed on the computer. The software imitated the actual human papillomavirus infection and its evolution in the population of the United States on the long-run. The scientists focused on the vaccinations positive effects provided by an understandable suite of states of infected males and females. The set of human papillomavirus related diseases ranged from cervical cancer, genital warts and respiratory papillomatosis. The latter represents a very rare and aggressive respiratory illness that affects infants and is caused by the genital warts of the mother.
Statistics on the cost-efficiency of vaccinating girls under 12 years of age with the vaccine against the human papillomavirus showed a ratio of $40,310 per QALY (quality-adjusted life year), under the hypothesis of a 75% population vaccination and a long-lasting protection effect from the vaccine. The QALY represents a standard linked to the low quality of low due to illnesses and the death provoked by diseases. In the United States a rate smaller than $100,000 or even $50,000 per quality-adjusted life year is seen as a cost-effective ratio. By vaccinating young boys against the human papillomavirus, the ratio would equal $290,290 per quality-adjusted life year, a figure which is far above the cost-effective standard informally accepted.
These outcomes were based on a series of varying models like the monitoring processes, the diminishing effects in the male population, a smaller protection span from the vaccine`s behalf and numerous human papillomavirus results. Nontheless, the team of researchers admit that unknown agents that can bias the discoveries of the study still remain. One example could be the fact that the protection of the vaccine would be the same in both female and male population and if the cost of the treatment is diminished the policymakers would favor the vaccination of boys in order to obtain a cost-effective value.
Due to the fact that the United States Food and Drug Administration is taking a closer look at the idea of providing vaccine against the HPV to boys as well, the results of the study are prone to aid the decision-making process and provide a framework for the mechanism of vaccination. The investigators state that their research is not intended for the individual household that is considering to vaccinate the family`s young boy, but its aim is to help policymakers. Nonetheless, they acknowledge that it is important for parents of young boys to understand the long-term benefits the vaccine provides to their sons such as diminishing the possibility to get infected with genital warts or other human papillomavirus related illnesses.
The team of researchers also states that the purpose of their study was to provide information and guidance for the public and say that vaccinating young males is prone not to be a competitive process for the other community health programs that need the same inputs. As the investigators conclude, the vaccination of young girls against the human papillomavirus should be emphasized since it represents an efficient method in counteracting the cervical cancer. They also advise the general public on continuously monitoring their organism in order to prevent or treat the cervical cancer in early stages of development.
