Call for debate over cervical cancer vaccine

At Gynaecworld, a clinic run by gynaecologist Dr Duru Shah at Kemps Corner, at least one young girl takes the cervical cancer vaccine every day, reports Neha Bhayana.

At Gynaecworld, a clinic run by gynaecologist Dr Duru Shah at Kemps Corner, at least one young girl takes the cervical cancer vaccine every day.

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Many paediatric clinics across the city too have been inoculating girls aged between nine to 14 years against cervical cancer, which affects the mouth of the uterus.

With aggressive marketing campaigns urging parents to ‘protect their daughters’ against the deadly cancer which ‘kills 200 Indian women everyday’, no parent wants to take chances even if the vaccine costs approximately Rs 12,000 for three doses. But the vaccine, which hit the Indian market recently, is dogged by controversy. Studies on the ‘risks versus benefits’ of giving it to teens are on.

Experts have questioned the vaccine being labeled as a ‘prevention for cervical cancer’ when it protects only against the human papillomavirus (HPV), one of the main causes of cervical cancer.

“The vaccine immunises against just two of the 80 strains of HPV and there are other causes of cervical cancer too,” said Dr Rekha Daver, head of the gynaecology department at Sir JJ Hospital. She added that a different strain of the virus could replace the strains currently causing cervical cancer, thus rendering the vaccine useless in future.

The Drug Controller and Auditor General of India has also issued a notice to GlaxoSmithKline – one of the two companies manufacturing the vaccine – for “unlawfully claiming” that its vaccine can prevent cancer. Moreover, since research on the vaccine started only eight years ago, no one knows for how long its effect will last. “So far, we only know that the immunity will last for five to seven years,” said gynaecologist Dr Duru Shah.

The recommendation to give the vaccine to girls, aged nine to 14-years, is being viewed as blindly aping the West where people become sexually active at a much younger age. “In India, it would be more appropriate to give the vaccine to 14 to 16-year-olds,” said Dr Shah.

A senior paediatrician expressed concern about doctors recommending the vaccine because of kick-backs from pharmaceutical companies. Drug manufacturers are also lobbying to make vaccine mandatory. The Indian Academy of Paediatrics, which has over 17,000 members, is officially supporting the vaccine.

“It is more important to educate girls about responsible sexual behaviour,” said gynaecologist Dr Vanita Raut from Hiranandani Hospital, Powai.