Evidence of immune memory 8.5 years following administration of a prophylactic human papillomavirus type 16 vaccine.

Background: The duration of protection conferred by prophylactic human papillomavirus (HPV) L1 virus-like particle vaccines is a critical determinant of their public health impact. A feature of vaccines that confer long-term immunity is their ability to induce immune memory.

Objectives: We evaluated antibody responses against HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18 following administration of the quadrivalent HPV-6/11/16/18 vaccine to women who had previously received a monovalent HPV-16 vaccine.

Study Design: As part of an extended follow-up study conducted between 2006 and 2009 in Seattle, Washington, we administered the quadrivalent HPV-6/11/16/18 vaccine to 52 women (19 vaccine and 33 placebo recipients) who had participated in a monovalent HPV-16 vaccine trial 8.5 years earlier. Serum samples were tested for anti-HPV antibodies using competitive Luminex immunoassay.

Results: Following administration of the first dose of the quadrivalent HPV-6/11/16/18 vaccine, the anti-HPV-16 geometric mean titer among monovalent HPV-16 vaccine recipients (GMT=5024.0 milli-Merck units per milliliter [mMU/mL]; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2710.1, 9313.6 mMU/mL) substantially exceeded that among the placebo recipients (GMT=136.1; 95% CI: 78.5, 235.8 mMU/mL; p<0.01) and their own highest anti-HPV-16 response observed during the original trial (GMT at month 7 of the original trial=1552.7 mMU/mL; 95% CI: 1072.6, 2247.7 mMU/mL; p<0.01).

Conclusions: The findings suggest that the administration of the three-dose regimen of the monovalent HPV-16 vaccine had produced memory lymphocytes, characterized by a heightened immune response following administration of the quadrivalent HPV-6/11/16/18 vaccine that effectively served as an antigen challenge.