Background: Immune response to quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine delivered at 0, 2, and 6 months in young adolescent females plateaus around 24 months after immunization. Antibody levels >24 months postvaccination using extended dosing schedules is unknown.
Methods: We conducted a follow-up immunogenicity study of adolescent girls in Vietnam who participated in a noninferiority trial to investigate whether immune responses using 3 alternative dosing schedules (0, 3, 9 months; 0, 6, 12 months; or 0, 12, 24 months) are noninferior to the standard schedule at >2 years after immunization.
Results: Quadrivalent HPV vaccine immunogenicity delivered on 3 alternative dosing schedules was noninferior for types 6, 11, 16, and 18 at 32 months post-dose 3 compared to the standard schedule. Pre-dose 3 antibody levels for the 0, 12, 24 month schedule were similar to those measured 32-months post-dose 3.
Conclusions: We found similar antibody concentrations ≥29 months after 3 doses of HPV vaccine regardless of dose-timing, and extended schedules do not produce inferior immune responses. Our findings also suggested that 2 doses of HPV vaccine delivered at 0 and 12 months might afford similar protection. Evidence supporting dosing flexibility could be important for national HPV vaccination policies.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00524745.
Keywords: HPV vaccine; Vietnam; adolescents; human papillomavirus; immunogenicity; vaccination schedule.