Brazil, which has been a Participating State of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) since 2013, recently took an important step in its efforts to prevent cervical cancer. Professor Nísia Trindade Lima, the Minister of Health of Brazil, announced in early April 2024 that the country will adopt a single-dose strategy in its vaccination programmes against human papillomavirus (HPV).
In a new video, Dr Iacopo Baussano, a scientist in the Early Detection, Prevention, and Infections Branch at IARC, explains how IARC’s research was instrumental to Brazil updating its recommendations. He also explains the scale of the problems of HPV and cervical cancer in Brazil, how this decision will make a difference, and how it may affect other countries that are working to eliminate cervical cancer.
Researchers from IARC have been heavily involved in efforts to develop vaccination programmes, to monitor their impact, and to adapt them for use in even the most resource-constrained countries. IARC researchers have shown that a single dose of vaccine against HPV, which causes almost all cases of cervical cancer and some cases of other cancer types, confers equivalent protection against HPV to that offered by two or even three doses.
Countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and, most recently, Brazil have announced that they will adopt a one-dose strategy against HPV.