Quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine substantially reduces the risk of invasive cervical cancer

Randomised controlled trials show that human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is protective against HPV infection, genital warts and high-grade precancerous cervical lesions.1 However, such trials cannot evaluate vaccine effectiveness against invasive cervical cancer due to a long lead time. This Swedish registry-based cohort study followed up 1.7 million women aged 10–30 years without previous HPV vaccination or invasive cervical cancer from 2006 to 2017. The adjusted risk of cervical cancer among women who were vaccinated before 17 years of age was 88% lower than among those who had never been vaccinated. These findings support the effectiveness of the quadrivalent HPV vaccine in conferring protection against invasive cervical cancer.

Lei J, Ploner A, Elfström KM, et al. HPV vaccination and the risk of invasive cervical cancer. N Engl J Med 2020;383:1340–8. doi:10.1056/nejmoa1917338.

COVID-19 may modulate virological HIV suppression during antiretroviral therapy (ART)

The marked effects of SARS-CoV-2 on immunity and inflammation suggest that COVID-19 may influence HIV control despite effective ART. This US study used a single-copy HIV-1 RNA assay to investigate 12 individuals sampled a median of 37 days post-onset of COVID-19 symptoms and 17 individuals whose plasma samples were collected prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The proportion with detectable plasma HIV-1 RNA …