Evaluation of Long-term HPV Vaccine Efficacy

Summary

For ethical and practical reasons pre-licensure clinical efficacy phase III trials for GSK Biologicals' HPV-16/18 LI VLP AS04 vaccine used cervical intraepithelial grade 2 and above (CIN2+) lesions as surrogate efficacy endpoint for cervical cancer. The long-term impact of HPV vaccination on cervical cancer as well as other HPV-related non- cervical cancers is, however, an area warranting further exploration in the post-licensure setting. Results of the multinational phase III trial demonstrated high vaccine efficacy against CIN2+ associated with HPV-16 and/or HPV-18, significant vaccine efficacy against CIN2+ and CIN3+ irrespective of HPV type in the lesion as well as evidence of protection against CIN2+ associated with HPV types 31 and 45 \[Paavonen, et al. 2009\]. Over time, vaccinated cohorts should benefit from a substantial reduction in the incidence of cervical cancer considering impact on oncogenic non-vaccine HPV types. This long-term study is conducted to evaluate the long-term impact of GSK Biologicals' HPV-16/18 vaccine on the occurrence of cervical pre-cancerous lesions and cervical cancer with the following objectives:

* To assess the long-term efficacy of the HPV-16/18 L1 VLP AS04 vaccine on the occurrence of cervical cancer including its immediate precursors (CIN3+): cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 (CIN3) and adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) by comparing cohorts A and C (see below).
* To assess the efficacy of HPV-16/18 L1 VLP AS04 vaccine on the occurrence of the following potentially HPV related non-cervical cancers such as vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia, vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia, anogenital neoplasia and oropharyngeal neoplasia by comparing cohorts A and C (see below)
* To assess as an explanatory objective the occurrence of CIN3+ breakthrough cases associated with HPV-16 or HPV-18 infection in subjects vaccinated with HPV-16/18 L1 VLP AS04 vaccine by close surveillance of cohorts and cross vaccinated cohort B (see below)

This prospective, observational cohort study is undertaken in originally 16-17 year-old Finnish females who have participated in the GSK Biologicals' HPV-008 trial (NCT00122681) with regular clinical follow-up, and can be divided in Cohort A: Female subjects from Finland who received HPV-16/18 L1 VLP AS04 vaccine in the HPV-008 study between May 2004 and May 2005 (N=2409), and Cohort B: Female subjects from Finland who received the Hepatitis A control vaccine in the HPV-008 study (N=2399). All subjects were offered the HPV-16/18 L1 VLP AS04 vaccine or screening for cervical cancer at the end of the study (age 21-22): 50% of the subjects, chose not to take cross-over HPV vaccination at HPV-008 study end. Referent Cohort C: A population-based reference cohort of female subjects from Finland who have not been exposed to any HPV vaccine (either during a HPV vaccine trial, or commercially available vaccine; i.e. Cervarix or Gardasil), enrolled in this study in May - September 2003 or May - September 2005, altogether 15536 subjects).

Prospective data collection will start at the HPV screening invitation for each subject in 2013. Several analyses are planned including an analysis at 8 years post-completion of the HPV-008 study (by 2020) and will provide a total evaluation time of approximately 15 years since first vaccination in the Cohort A.

The study is self-contained for the primary and secondary endpoints. Data from the HPV-008 trial will be used to address exploratory objectives mentioned above. Data collection will be performed using the databases from the University of Tampere.


Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Trial Cohort (16-17 years at baseline) - the cohort of Finnish subjects who participated in the GSK Biologicals' HPV-008 trial (NCT00122681):
* Cohort A: subjects who received HPV-16/18 L1 VLP AS04 vaccine between May 2004 and May 2005.
* Cohort B: subjects who received the Hepatitis A control vaccine. All subjects were offered the HPV-16/18 L1 VLP AS04 vaccine at the end of the study (age 21-22).
* Cohort B1: subjects who received the Hepatitis A control vaccine and then received cross-over HPV vaccination at HPV-008 study end.
* Cohort B2: subjects who received the Hepatitis A control vaccine and who did not receive cross-over HPV vaccination at HPV-008 study end.
* Referent cohort (18-19 years at baseline):
* Cohort C: A population-based reference cohort of female subjects from Finland who have not been exposed to any HPV vaccine enrolled in this study in May 2005, immediately after recruitment of the HPV-008 clinical trial subjects had been stopped (approximately 9,000 subjects).

Exclusion Criteria:

* Trial Cohort (Cohort A and B): Previous or planned administration of an HPV vaccine not foreseen by the HPV-008 study protocol or any HPV-008 extension study protocol (Gardasil or any experimental HPV vaccine).
* Referent cohort (Cohort C): Previous or planned administration of an HPV vaccine (Cervarix, Gardasil or any experimental HPV vaccine).