Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata 951-8510, Japan
Risa Kudo
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata 951-8510, Japan
Manako Yamaguchi
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata 951-8510, Japan
Sharon J. B. Hanley
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan
Megumi Hara
Department of Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University, Saga 849-8501, Japan
Sosuke Adachi
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata 951-8510, Japan
Yutaka Ueda
Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
Etsuko Miyagi
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yokohama City University School of Medicine, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan
Sayaka Ikeda
Division of Environmental Medicine and Population Sciences, Department of Social and Environmental Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
Asami Yagi
Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
Takayuki Enomoto
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata 951-8510, Japan
The Japanese government suspended proactive recommendations for the HPV vaccine in June 2013. The suspension is now in its seventh year, despite all the data pointing to the safety of the HPV vaccine. We reported a high vaccine effectiveness in the group of women vaccinated before their first intercourse (93.9%). The prevalence of cross-protected types of HPV 31/45/52 was also lower in the vaccinated group, and the vaccine effectiveness was 67.7%. Furthermore, prevalence of HPV16, 31 and 52 infection rates in the vaccinated group were obviously lower than that in the unvaccinated group, and no one had HPV18 or 45 infection in the vaccinated group. The addition of a cross-protective effect toward HPV types 31/45/52 to HPV types 16/18, which is the direct target of the bivalent HPV vaccine, may possibly prevent around 82% of invasive cervical cancer cases in Japan. With regard to the preventive effect of histological abnormalities, we also reported significant reduction in incidence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)3 or worse. Thus, the efficacy of the vaccine has been demonstrated for precancerous disease, and the diverse symptoms after HPV vaccination are likely functional somatic. For the future of Japanese girls, there is a need to resume the proactive recommendation of HPV vaccination and for immediate action to be taken by the Japanese government.