Only one dose of HPV vaccine may protect against infection

A single dose of the human papillomavirus or HPV vaccine may be just as effective as the two or three doses recommended for preventing the cancer-causing HPV infection, a new study conducted by the University of Texas Health Science Center suggests. Researchers analyzed data from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey on over 1,600 women in the United States. Their study suggests that women who received one dose of the vaccine may have gained similar protection compared with those who received additional doses. If ongoing clinical trials provide evidence of the single-dose strategy, it could help reduce the burden of these cancers globally, say researchers.