No invasive cervical cancer cases were seen in women vaccinated against HPV at age 12 or 13 in Scotland, regardless of the number of doses.
The authors recommended following the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation to begin routine HPV vaccination at age 9.
The outcomes were notable because the study took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many routine immunizations were missed.
Four years after vaccination, by age 18, towns that had girls-only or sex-neutral vaccination saw a marked reduction in cancer-causing HPV strains.
Persistent human papillomavirus infections cause most precancerous cervical lesions and cancers.
A cross-sectional analysis showed that for the first time since 2013, HPV vaccination initiation did not increase among adolescents aged 13 to 17 years.
About 1 in 5 men globally have at least one kind of high-risk HPV, the analysis finds.
Increases in countries that already had good momentum overshadowed struggles other countries had with regaining lost ground.
Data show 40% of moms and 7% of babies test positive for HPV, and another study highlights why some parents avoid the HPV vaccine for their children.
The study results were announced at the 35th International Papillomavirus Conference in Washington, DC, this week.
