# HPV vaccination efficacy for cervical cancer prevention in young women with perinatal HIV infection

> **NIH NIH R21** · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · 2020 · $204,531

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Over 2 million children and young adults worldwide were perinatally infected with HIV, and these children are
at risk of many adverse health outcomes, including a high risk of cervical and other human papillomavirus
(HPV)-associated cancers. Unfortunately, the Pediatric HIV/AIDS Cohort Study, a rich source of observational
data on children with perinatal HIV infection, recently found troubling evidence that suggests low efficacy of the
HPV vaccine in children with perinatal HIV infection. Given the high vulnerability of women and girls with HIV to
cervical cancer, this finding needs to be explored. However, since the youth in this cohort are still relatively
young assessing the impact of vaccination on cervical cancer in the data is difficult.
We propose to answer key clinical questions about cervical cancer prevention in girls and young women with
perinatal HIV infection by combining this observational data with a well-validated individual-level simulation
model of cervical cancer. We will estimate the vaccine efficacy based on number of doses, age, and HIV
disease severity at vaccination from the Pediatric HIV/AIDS Cohort Study data. We will calibrate the simulation
model to vaccine efficacy in the cohort study, and assess assumptions required to estimate causal effects from
this model. Finally, we will project the impact of novel vaccination strategies, such as earlier age at initiation
and additional doses, on cervical cancer incidence in young women with perinatal HIV infection to determine
whether altering the recommendations for HPV vaccination can reduce cervical cancer risk in this group.
Our work will implement and extend cutting-edge approaches to emulate randomized trials using observational
data and combine this with simulation models to provide rapid generation of high-quality evidence to inform
decision-making. The results of this project will improve the health and quality of life of young women with
perinatal HIV-infection in the United States and worldwide and demonstrate the implementation of a novel
method for estimating causal effects when randomized trials and observational studies have insufficient data to
provide evidence-based decision-making.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9923712
- **Project number:** 5R21HD098733-02
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS
- **Principal Investigator:** Eleanor Murray
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $204,531
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-05-01 → 2021-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9923712

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9923712, HPV vaccination efficacy for cervical cancer prevention in young women with perinatal HIV infection (5R21HD098733-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9923712. Licensed CC0.

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