Effect of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination on HPV infection and recurrence of HPV related disease after local surgical treatment: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background The prophylactic vaccines available to protect against infections by human papillomavirus (HPV) are well tolerated and highly immunogenic. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to explore the efficacy of HPV vaccination on the risk of HPV infection and recurrent diseases related to HPV infection in individuals undergoing local surgical treatment. Methods A literature search was performed using PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, and bioRxiv/medRxiv from inception to July 15, 2024. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting the effect of HPV vaccination on HPV infection and recurrence of HPV related disease after local surgical treatment vs no HPV vaccination were included. The primary outcome measure was risk of recurrence cervical high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) after local surgical treatment, with follow-up as reported by individual studies. Included studies were assessed for risk of bias using the Revised Cochrane risk-of-bias (RoB 2.0 tool). Pooled risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. No restrictions were applied on language, the date of publication, age, sex, and country. All analyses were carried out using the Review Manager 5 software (version 5.4). Results Eight RCTs (n = 3068) met the inclusion criteria. The risk of cervical HSIL recurrence was not reduced in individuals who were vaccinated compared with those who were not vaccinated (RR 0.92, 95% CI: 0.66–1.27; I2 = 40%). However, HPV vaccination reduced the risk of recurrence of cervical HSIL related to the HPV types HPV16/18, but uncertainty was large (RR 0.57, 95% CI: 0.18–1.84; I2 = 29%). Conclusions Adjuvant HPV vaccination after surgical excision is not associated with a reduced risk of recurrent HSIL overall or a reduced risk of recurrent lesions caused by the most oncogenic strains (HPV16/18). Therefore, HPV vaccination should not be considered for adjuvant treatment in patients undergoing surgical excision.