Teenage boys shouldn’t be given HPV vaccine, says joint committee

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme should not be extended to boys, as it would not be cost effective, the UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has said in an interim ruling.1

Since 2008 girls aged 12 and 13 in the UK have been offered HPV vaccination to protect against the development of cervical cancer in later life. HPV infects males and females, and in boys and men it can progress to cause anal, penile, and oropharyngeal and oral cavity cancers, and anogenital warts.

In 2013 Australia became the first country in the world to fund a national HPV vaccination scheme for boys.2 A pilot scheme to evaluate …