BAOMS welcomes decision to extend HPV jab to boys
Decision will save lives and save the NHS money
18 July 2018 (Last updated: 18 Jul 2018 15:10)
For immediate release 18 July 2018
The British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS) has welcomed the news that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has recommended extending the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine programme to boys, saying that it will save lives and money.
BAOMS Chair Patrick Magennis said: “The actual cost of annual vaccination is estimated to be a quarter of the cost of treatment of just HPV-driven oropharyngeal cancers (cancers of the tonsil, base of tongue and side of the throat), let alone the cost to individuals who have suffered an HPV-related cancer. The arguments to introduce the vaccination programme are clear.”
Typically, life-threatening HPV-related cancers can develop during middle age, but boys have been excluded from the national HPV vaccination programme since it was introduced for girls in 2008. To date over 2.3m girls in the UK have been vaccinated but there is no “catch up” programme for either sex, so women over the age of 23 remain at risk.
Patrick Magennis explained that the cost of treating just HPV-driven oropharyngeal cancer to the NHS is approximately £30m a year. He pointed to figures that show that between 2010 and 2012 nearly 2,000 men had HPV-related head and neck cancer. Over half of oropharyngeal cancers are caused by HPV, and in the last decade alone the incidence of these cancers has doubled in the UK population.
Head and neck surgeons say that effective and timely cancer treatment for HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer has excellent survival results. But, patients frequently have serious and debilitating life-long side-effects from treatment that have a profound impact on the quality of life of the cancer survivors.
Head and neck surgeons have long been lobbying for the change to the vaccination programme, and challenged the JCVI to introduce gender neutrality. The Cancer Services Committee (CSC) of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (senior surgeons drawn from the UK Specialist Surgical Associations that include head and neck cancer surgeons) has disagreed strongly with the concept of ‘herd immunity’. The CSC also argued that men who come into contact with unvaccinated women over the age of 23, or who come from non-vaccine countries, or who have sex with men will be exposed to the risk of infection.
“Current evidence suggests that vaccination of boys in their teenage years will prevent them from developing HPV-related cancers in middle age. The introduction of male vaccination is both timely and a welcome first step,” Patrick Magennis said.
Ends
For further information and interviews contact: Siân Evans on 020 8674 8921 / 07752 414433 or BAOMS
Notes to editors
- The British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS) promotes the advancement of education, research and the development of oral and maxillofacial Surgery in Great Britain, and encourages and assists postgraduate education, study and research.
- The Cancer Services Committee of the Royal College of Surgeons of England is made up of senior surgeons drawn from the UK Specialist Surgical Associations that include head and neck cancer surgeons: British Association of Head & Neck Oncologists (BAHNO); British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS); British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS); Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT UK); Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG); and colorectal surgeons The Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (ACPGBI).
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