Even under favorable assumptions, including lifelong protection against 70% of all cervical cancers and no side effects, vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV) is not cost-effective in the Netherlands, according to a study published online July 1 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Researchers conducted the study because the cost effectiveness of HPV vaccination may be limited by the low number of cervical cancer cases and deaths in the region associated with the current Dutch cervical cancer screening program.
In the study, Inge M.C.M. de Kok of the Department of Public Health at Erasmus MC, University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and colleagues estimated the costs and effects of adding HPV vaccination to the current program (screening only) using a microsimulation screening analysis model.
They found that adding HPV vaccination was not cost-effective, even under favorable assumptions.
"To become cost-effective, the vaccine price would have to be decreased considerably, depending on the effectiveness of the vaccine," the authors write.