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 The HPV vaccine has been a political lightening rod in Japan, where
claims of side effects prompted the government to halt active
recommendation of the shots in June 2013.
A study published in The Lancet Public Health on Monday said that
policy would lead to more than 24,600 cervical cancer cases that
could have been prevented.
Using Japanese population and medical data and forecasted cervical
cancer incidence, the study found that, if nothing changes, there
would be 10,800 preventable deaths from cervical cancer over the
next 50 years.
"If the government were to resume promoting the HPV vaccine in
Japan, our study shows that we could avoid most of this loss of
life," said study co-author Sharon Hanley, a professor at Hokkaido
University in northern Japan.
The Japanese government could not immediately be reached for comment
on the Lancet report. Kei Tamura, deputy director of the Health
Ministry's immunization office, said in an interview in December
that "there is a sort of inner conflict in that we are not
aggressively, proactively recommending it, but I do think it's
better to take it."
HPV, which stands for the human papilloma virus, causes genital
warts in both sexes and cervical cancer in women. Each year, about
10,000 Japanese women are newly diagnosed with the cancer while
3,000 die from it.
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Uptake was swift when the vaccine was introduced in Japan in 2009,
with immunization reaching about 70% in adolescent girls.
However, the vaccination rate has since slid to below 1% after the
health ministry suspended its active recommendation after reports of
side effects including muscle pain, sleep disorders, and light and
sound sensitivity.
Females aged 12-16 can still get free HPV vaccines under Japan's
national healthcare system if they ask for it. Everyone else must
pay out of pocket.
In November, ruling party legislator Junko Mihara, a cervical cancer
survivor, said lawmakers would hold talks on the vaccine this
summer. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and eight other regional leaders
signed a letter supporting HPV vaccination.
The Health Ministry said in December it was working on improving
leaflets on the vaccine, but had no time table for a return to
regular immunization.
(Reporting by Rocky Swift; editing by Jane Wardell)
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