Grant: Project Grant - Priority Announcement: HIV/AIDS and STBBI

Every day, nearly 1000 women die from cervical cancer worldwide, a preventable cancer caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). Women and persons with a cervix living with HIV (WLWH) are at the highest risk of developing cervical cancer. However, there are limited data on the nonavalent HPV (9vHPV) vaccine in this population, and no data on how long protection lasts or how effective this vaccine is. This research is especially important given that the older quadrivalent HPV vaccine has been discontinued. To reach the World Health Organization's global goal of cervical cancer elimination, we must understand the role of HPV prevention strategies in this important population. Our team is currently conducting a randomized clinical trial of the 9vHPV vaccine in WLWH, following participants for 2 years. However, longer-term follow-up is necessary to understand how well the vaccine works in this population. With this project, we will extend follow-up to 6 years in our established Canadian cohort of WLWH to assess the longer-term immune response and efficacy of the 9vHPV vaccine. We will also examine the acceptability of HPV self-sampling for cervical cancer screening in this population. This study builds on our team's longstanding work on HPV vaccination in WLWH. Our research will generate critical data to guide clinical recommendations and practice guidelines for HPV vaccine implementation in WLWH and will support global efforts to eliminate cervical cancer.