Correlation between HPV Vaccination and Cervical Cancer Incidence in Southeast Asian Population

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted disease of genital tract that may cause cervical cancer, the second most frequent type of cancer in South East Asia. By far, HPV vaccination is widely used for risk reduction; however, the rate of developing cervical cancer post-vaccination is still not well-studied. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between HPV vaccination and development of cervical cancer in Southeast Asia. Analysis of data on HPV vaccination in Southeast Asia was performed, based on literature from 2010 to 2016 accessible in PubMed, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect. Vaccination coverage rates and changes in cervical cancer incidence in particular countries were subjected to comparative analysis using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The statistical analysis showed HPV vaccination coverage and cervical cancer incidence has negative correlation but not significant (r=-0.04, p>0.05). This might due to HPV vaccination introduction is still at early stage (<10 years of implementation). In addition, 5 out of 9 countries are running the vaccination program as pilot project rather than nationwide program. Other factors may also influence the incidence of cervical cancer such as: genetics and lifestyle factor, socioeconomic status as well as having many children. Nevertheless, follow up study is needed to assess effect of HPV vaccination introduction and coverage to cervical cancer incidences in Southeast Asian countries.