Vaccination against HPV: Theoretical Aspects and Practical Results of Cervical Cancer Prevention

Abstract

Relevance. Cervical cancer (CC) continues to be the focus of attention of oncologists all over the world due to the fact that the incidence of it over the past decades has not tended to decrease. The steady increase in morbidity, high mortality rates, and the tendency to «rejuvenate» the disease, the relatively low detection rate of the early stages of the disease due to poor results of cytological screening predetermine the search for new scientifically based approaches to solving cervical cancer problems. A promising direction for the prevention of squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) is prophylactic vaccination against HPV, the need for which is due to the role of HPV infection in carcinogenesis processes.The aim of this article is to summarize the currently available data on advances in the prevention of precancerous lesions and cervical cancer, primarily through vaccination against HPV infection.Conclusions. The creation of vaccines for the prevention of oncogenic HPV types is a significant achievement in the biomedical research area. The successful development of a group of vaccines, which can confidently be called the vaccines of the 21st century, gives us hope that modern medicine has the potential to reduce population cancer risk and reduce the likelihood of early onset of cervical cancer. Demonstration of the efficacy and feasibility of routine HPV vaccination programs in a number of countries demonstrates encouraging progress in solving cervical cancer problems. Vaccination against HPV will not only ensure epidemiological well-being, but also lead to a decrease in morbidity and mortality from such a terrible complication of human papillomavirus infection – cervical cancer.