SELF -PACED MODULE: HPV Vaccination – Cancer Prevention and Early Detection

HPV Vaccination

SELF-PACED MODULE

Lectures

Questions and answers

Quiz

Certificate of completion

WATCH THE VIDEO EXCERPT!

Date of the recording: 19 November 2020

Webinar organized with the support of and in collaboration with the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO).

INTRODUCTION BY

Dr Gary Clifford

Head of the Infections and Cancer Epidemiology Group

International Agency for Research on Cancer, France

About Dr Gary Clifford

KEY LEARNINGS FROM AUSTRALIA’S HPV VACCINATION EXPERIENCE

Dr Julia Brotherton

Medical Director, Population Health

VCS Foundation, Australia

Presentation summary

Australia is in its 14th year of HPV vaccination, which started with a catch-up programme. Before 2018, the programme used three-dose quadrivalent HPV vaccine, with male vaccination commencing in 2013. Since 2018, the routine school-based programme has used two-dose nonavalent vaccine. This presentation assesses whether Australia’s coverage, and programme impacts so far, are consistent with achieving elimination of cervical cancer in Australia.

Short biography

Associate Professor Julia Brotherton is a public health physician and epidemiologist. As Medical Director of Population Health at VCS Foundation in Melbourne, Australia, Julia has substantial expertise and experience in the delivery and evaluation of population-based cancer screening and immunization programmes, and is internationally known for her work on the impact of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. She was a lead investigator in Australian research that demonstrated the world’s first evidence of dramatic declines in both HPV infections and pre-cancerous cervical lesions in young women after vaccination. She is an Honorary Principal Fellow at the School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, and is a member of the WHO Director-General’s Expert Advisory Group on Cervical Cancer Elimination.

KEY TRENDS IN HPV VACCINATION FROM A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

Mr Paul Bloem

HPV Vaccine Strategy Lead

World Health Organization, Switzerland

Presentation summary

How have other countries followed Australia’s example, and what has been learned about HPV vaccination in lower-resource settings? An overview of introduction status by region and income levels points to both challenges and successes, followed by an assessment of the key drivers affecting introductions in the coming years. Against the goal of eliminating cervical cancer, Paul assesses the feasibility of reaching global cervical cancer elimination targets, and discusses possible future innovations in HPV vaccination programmes.

Short biography

Mr Paul Bloem is a public health practitioner specializing in Health Systems Management. After working in public health research in his native Netherlands and subsequently for nongovernmental organizations and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Central America, he joined the World Health Organization (WHO) more than two decades ago. He dedicated his career to improving the health of adolescents and got involved in human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination a decade ago. He is now the strategy lead for HPV vaccines in the Department of Immunizations, Vaccines and Biologicals at WHO headquarters in Geneva. In his current capacity, he supports norms and standards setting on HPV vaccination as part of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) secretariat; he has developed technical reference materials and provides technical support to the introduction of the vaccine in low- and middle-income countries. He is the chair of the GAVI HPV Subteam advising the implementation of GAVI’s HPV programme. He sits on the Secretariat for the Global Strategy on Cervical Cancer Elimination and chairs its Vaccines Working Group, and is dedicated to the promotion of a comprehensive approach to cervical cancer prevention and control and the integration of HPV vaccination with other health interventions to further the health of adolescents.

Access the module in the World Cancer Report Updates learning platform HERE.