Why is the nonavalent HPV vaccine so important for Brazil?

Abstract

Genital Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most common sexually transmitted infection worldwide. It presents from latent infection to anogenital and oropharyngeal carcinoma in both men and women. Cervical cancer is still the most prevalent cancer associated with HPV and in many countries, such as Brazil, is considered an epidemic, although Pap smears are available in public and considered a way of prevention of the disease. However, in Brazil, the coverage of this test is very low, reflecting the maintenance of high mortality for this disease for decades. The most effective way to prevent this disease, of course, is to prevent HPV infection with vaccination. High vaccine coverage using the 4HPV vaccine, which is available in Brazil, would provide a significant reduction in cancer in our country, whereas the use of 9HPV would prevent almost all high-grade lesions, true precursors of cervical cancer.