September 05, 2015

HPV Vaccine May Help Clear Oral Warts / Papillomas


Contrary to popular belief that it may take years for the HPV vaccine to be truly effective, Texas researchers reported they were able to completely clear all oral papillomas due to the HPV virus in an adult within 3 months of vaccination.

Specifically, they reported that a man in his 60s who suffered from recurrent oral papillomas in spite of multiple excisions was clear of all lesions within 3 months after receiving the quadrivalent HPV vaccine. Interestingly, this patient had HPV-32 which is not part of the HPV vaccine (HPV-16, 18, 6, 11).

In another study, this vaccine minimized papilloma formation in the airway of a child.

Apparently, there are not isolated cases. In the reported literature, 8 others have noted the same improvement. Time to improvement was seen within 4 weeks of vaccination and resolution after 3 to 8 months.

Given these promising findings, quadrivalent HPV vaccination may certainly be worth pursuing in any patients of any gender at any age suffering from oral/airway papillomas.

This was confirmed in a 2023 study.

Currently, there are three FDA approved HPV vaccines:

• The bivalent HPV vaccine (Cervarix) which addresses HPV 16 and 18;
• The quadrivalent HPV vaccine (Gardasil) which prevents four HPV types: HPV 16 and 18, as well as HPV 6 and 11;
• And finally Gardasil 9 which prevents 9 HPV types: 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58.

All vaccines are administered through a series of 3 intra-muscular injections over a 6-month period. The second and third doses should be given 2 and 6 months after the first dose.

Of note, our office does offer the HPV spit test to see if HPV is present in the mouth/throat.

Reference:
Outcomes After Human Papillomavirus Vaccination in Patients With Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2022;148(7):654-661. doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2022.1190.

Effect of Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus Vaccination on Oral Squamous Cell Papillomas. JAMA Dermatol. Published online September 02, 2015. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2015.2805

Intersurgical interval increased with use of quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine (Gardasil) in a pediatric patient with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis: A case report. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2016 Dec;91:166-169. doi: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2016.10.032. Epub 2016 Oct 28.

Adjuvant Human Papillomavirus Vaccination for Secondary Prevention. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. Published online March 23, 2017. doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2016.4736

Effect of Prophylactic Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination on Oral HPV Infections Among Young Adults in the United States. J Clin Oncol. 2017 Nov 28:JCO2017750141. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2017.75.0141. [Epub ahead of print]

Implementation of Routine HPV Vaccination in the Management of Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2018 Dec 29:3489418821695. doi: 10.1177/0003489418821695. [Epub ahead of print]

The Efficacy of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination as an Adjuvant Therapy in Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis. Laryngoscope, 133:2046–2054, 2023
Fauquier blog
Fauquier ENT

Dr. Christopher Chang is a private practice otolaryngology, head & neck surgeon specializing in the treatment of problems related to the ear, nose, and throat. Located in Warrenton, VA about 45 minutes west of Washington DC, he also provides inhalant allergy testing/treatment, hearing tests, and dispenses hearing aids.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

If the Gardasil vaccine has been found to relieve the suffering of people with oral papillomas, that is truly a great scientific off-label use for Gardasil. My best friend has suffered for many years from cancer at the base of her tongue.

My concern is that I recently sat in a class taught by a physician assistant who stated that there were no side effects from the vaccine even though their 11 year old female patients were "dropping like flies" -- fainting -- when they first started the Gardasil program.

I had read lots of literature on this vaccine and continued to do so after that class. I believe every parent should first watch this video before deciding on Gardasil for their child. They are now recommending Gardasil for males, too.
http://healthimpactnews.com/2015/tv2-denmark-documentary-on-hpv-vaccine-shows-lives-of-young-women-ruined/

A great site to read about adverse reactions to all vaccines (that have been reported, many have not) follows. It takes a while to navigate but has great information.
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/vaccines/hpv-vaccine.html

My daughter was in pharmacy school when the adverse reactions to Gardasil were first reported. Luckily, she and her friends opted not to get that vaccine.

~ Liz Martorana, Manassas


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