Abstract

Objective

To examine the short-term impact of quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) (types 6/11/16/18) recombinant vaccination upon HPV disease-related health-care resource utilization and costs among young women.

Methods

We analyzed data from a randomized clinical trial comparing quadrivalent vaccination to placebo, among women (N = 7861) primarily 16 to 23 years of age at enrollment. HPV disease episodes, health-care resource utilization and costs associated with cervical, vaginal, and vulvar precancers, and anogenital warts were analyzed over a period of 2.5 years among women, regardless of baseline HPV status.

Results

Overall, there was a 25.9% (P 0.001) reduction in total HPV disease-related health-care costs among women receiving vaccine versus placebo (absolute reduction $3939 per 100 trial enrollees). We observed similar overall reductions in HPV-disease episodes and resource utilization. There was a statistically significant reduction in HPV 6/11-related disease episode costs of 65.1% ($1837 per 100), and a reduction of 51.4% ($1781 per 100) in HPV 16/18-related episode costs.

Conclusions

Quadrivalent HPV vaccination can reduce HPV disease events, resource use and costs when administered to a broad population of young women 16 to 23 years of age. Prevention of HPV types 6 and 11 yielded similar value in terms of HPV disease cost offsets, compared to protection against HPV 16 and 18, during the years initially after vaccination. Over the short-term, costs of vaccination exceed cost offsets associated with prevention of HPV disease; however, quadrivalent HPV vaccination has previously been shown to be cost-effective in the longer term, when fully accounting for health benefits and cost offsets.