In a further evidence suggesting that rolling out programme against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) in India was incorrect, a recent study has said that current data on HPV and cervical cancer incidence in India does not support the claim of the promoters of the vaccine that India had a large burden of cervical cancer.
“Neither the epidemiological evidence nor the current cancer surveillance systems justify general rollout of a HPV vaccination programme either in India or in the two states where Path was conducting its research,” the study published in the journal of the Royal Society of Medicine cited.
The Path had started earlier clinical trials of the vaccine among tribal girls in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. However, the government suspended the project, following the death of four girls after vaccination.
According to the recent study cervical cancer may be a major killer in India but existing data show that incidence rates for cervical cancer are low and decreased from around 43 cases per 100,000 in 1982-83 to around 22 per 100,000 in 2004-05. Brazil and Zimbabwe are reported to have around twice this rate. The study noted that such projects should be done only in areas where there is strong epidemiological evidence and which have the necessary surveillance and monitoring in place. “The WHO advises that the epidemiology of the disease should be known and be of sufficient importance to justify its prioritisation, and that surveillance systems should be capable of assessing the impact of a vaccine intervention following its introduction,” the study said.
The authors found that cancer surveillance, registration and monitoring in India in general — and specifically in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh — is incomplete. “In such a situation, it would be impossible to tell whether the vaccine would be successful in preventing cervical cancer,” it added further.
“The existing system of cancer registries is not adequate because they are not complete or comprehensive in their coverage for every region. Moreover, cancer registries give data about cancer cases and not about HPV prevalence, which is sought to be targeted by the new vaccines,” the study pointed out.