Cervical cancer vaccine for schoolgirls

Schoolgirls as young as 12 are to be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted disease linked to cervical cancer, under controversial plans being drawn up by the Department of Health.

Millions of girls would be immunised at school against human papilloma virus (HPV) before they become sexually active. Research has shown the virus is one of the key causes of cervical cancer, which kills around 1,000 women a year.

Routine injections against HPV have already been adopted in some US states and a handful of British parents have begun buying the o450 injection for their daughters through private clinics. The vaccine was licensed here earlier this year.

The government's expert advisory body on vaccination, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, is now studying proposals for an NHS-funded mass vaccination scheme which would eventually replace the current screening programme under which women are summoned for smear tests every three years to check for early signs of cancer.

Senior Department of Health sources said the best age for immunisation was 12 or 13, before most children become sexually active. Ministers are said to be looking positively at the idea and planning is well advanced.

The move will be controversial with some parents, who fear the jabs will encourage unprotected sex or send confused messages about the right age for girls to lose their virginity. The new jab also adds to the long list of vaccines to which children's immune systems are subjected and which some parents worry put too high a burden on young bodies.

Research among parents conducted by the Department of Health showed that most had not heard of HPV, one strain of which causes genital warts but can be carried without causing symptoms, and they did not know of the cancer link. They were worried, though, about the implications of vaccinating so young, prompting the joint committee to conclude that 'information on impact of vaccination on sexual activity' would be necessary to address parental concerns.

Exciting development

Immunisation is strongly backed within the medical profession.

Professor Alex Markham, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said vaccination could prevent almost three quarters of cases of the cancer, adding: 'The advent of a vaccine is a very exciting development.

HPV vaccination holds the potential to prevent the majority of cervical cancer cases in the UK.' He said the vaccine was 'most effective when given to women prior to any exposure to the virus', meaning before they started having sex. However Hugh McKinney of the pressure group the National Family Campaign questioned the wisdom of immunising such young girls.

'Vaccination against cervical cancer makes full sense to bring down occurrences of this dreadful disease. The only question is at what age is this most appropriate, and many people will question whether 12 years is too young to be undertaking a vaccination programme that is important for when girls become sexually active,' he said.

'It could be seen as helping to promote or encourage sexual activity in girls before they are physically or mentally mature.'

The vaccine would be given in two to three doses by school nurses, with protection lasting about 10 years. As with all vaccinations, parents could refuse consent. The joint committee has also considered whether boys should be immunised to stop them passing on the virus, with some evidence it could help protect against rarer penile cancers.

It concluded that vaccinating boys is 'only cost effective if both coverage and vaccine efficacy is low' among girls.

This summer Hollie Anderson, 13, became the first British girl to get the vaccine privately. Hollie's grandmother died of cervical cancer and her mother, Lisa Anderson, said she believed every mother and daughter should have the jab. She said: 'I've seen how awful the disease can be. I saw it as my role to protect Hollie.'

The main obstacle for the government could be financial - three doses cost the NHS o241.50, although there would be a discount for a universal programme and savings on treating the 2,800 women annually diagnosed with cervical cancer could be significant. Screening would have to continue for at least 15 years post-vaccination, to check it works.

The Observer