HPV vaccine offers lasting protection for women living with HIV, study finds
October 6, 2026
Longest study of its kind could help accelerate global efforts to eliminate cervical cancer
The HPV vaccine provides strong, long-lasting protection for women living with HIV, according to new research from the UBC Faculty of Medicine.
The findings provide important new evidence as countries work toward the World Health Organization’s goal of eliminating cervical cancer. Women living with HIV are six times more likely to be infected with HPV and twice as likely to die from invasive cervical cancer than those without HIV, making vaccination particularly important for this population.
Published in The Lancet HIV, the study followed women living with HIV for up to nine years after HPV vaccination — the longest study to date examining how well the vaccine works in this population. Until now, researchers had little evidence about the vaccine’s effectiveness in women living with HIV beyond two years.
Dr. Elisabeth McClymont
Published in The Lancet HIV, the study followed women living with HIV for up to nine years after HPV vaccination — the longest study to date examining how well the vaccine works in this population. Until now, researchers had little evidence about the vaccine’s effectiveness in women living with HIV beyond two years.
“We’ve known for some time that HPV vaccines are safe and highly effective, but we didn’t have long-term evidence to show how lasting that protection is for women living with HIV,” said first author Dr. Elisabeth McClymont, assistant professor in the UBC Faculty of Medicine’s department of obstetrics and gynaecology and department of pediatrics. “Our findings are incredibly reassuring. Even in a population whose immune systems can be affected by HIV, vaccination provided strong protection against HPV infection and cervical cancer for many years.”
The study included 293 women living with HIV in Canada and was conducted through 14 HIV and gynecological care clinics across the country.
The researchers found that the vaccine produced a strong immune response that was sustained over time. Among women who received all three doses and did not already have the strains of HPV targeted by the vaccine, rates of HPV infection and genital warts were very low, and no participants developed serious precancerous changes to the cervix caused by those HPV strains.
The researchers also found that maintaining an undetectable HIV viral load was important for sustaining HPV antibody levels over time, underscoring the importance of continued access to HIV treatment and care.
Dr. Deborah Money
The findings could have particular significance globally. Nearly 20 million women and girls are living with HIV worldwide, with a disproportionate burden in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to cervical cancer screening can also be limited.
“Cervical cancer is preventable, yet it continues to take lives in Canada and around the world, particularly in places where HIV rates are higher and access to screening and prevention is limited,” said senior author Dr. Deborah Money, professor and head of the UBC Faculty of Medicine’s department of obstetrics and gynaecology. “We now have concrete evidence that HPV vaccination works very well for women living with HIV over the long term. Making this vaccine more accessible and acceptable for those who need it most can help us prevent unnecessary deaths and move closer to eliminating cervical cancer globally.”
This study was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network, and an in-kind contribution from Merck Canada.
Contact
Faculty of Medicine
317 - 2194 Health Sciences Mall
Vancouver, BC Canada
V6T 1Z3
Tel 604 822 2421
Website www.med.ubc.ca
Source: UBC
https://www.med.ubc.ca/news/hpv-vaccine-offers-lasting-protection-for-women-living-with-hiv-study-finds/
“Reproduced with permission - UBC | The University of British Columbia”
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