Vaccine escape challenges virus prevention: The example of two vaccine‐preventable oncogenic viruses

Abstract

Over the years, the pace of developing vaccines for HBV and HPV has never stopped. After more than 30 years of application, the HBV vaccine has reduced 80% of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, vaccine escape variants occur under selective pressure induced by widespread vaccination and antiviral therapy, which results in fulminant infection and horizontal transmission. Several mechanisms have been studied to explain HBV vaccine escape, including vaccine escape mutations (VEMs) in the major hydrophilic region, which leads to a decrease in the binding ability to neutralize antibodies and is the primary escape mechanism, protein conformational and N‐linked glycosylation sites changes caused by VEMs, differences in genotype distribution, gene recombination, and some temporarily unknown reasons. However, effective solutions are still being explored. The HPV vaccine has also been proven to prevent 70%–90% of cervical cancer worldwide. Cases of HPV infection after being vaccinated have been observed in clinical practice. However, few researchers have paid attention to the mechanism of HPV vaccine escape. Thus, we reviewed the literature on vaccine escape of both HBV and HPV to discuss the mechanism of the virus escaping from vaccine protection and possible solutions to this problem. We analyzed the gap between studies of HPV and HBV and made prospects for further research in HPV vaccine escape.

A visualization analysis of hotspots and global trends on pelvic floor dysfunction in cervical cancer

“…The majority of cervical cancer cases can be avoided by vaccinating against the human papillomavirus (HPV) (primary prevention), screening for and treating precancerous lesions caused by HPV infections (secondary prevention), and it can be controlled if treated early (tertiary prevention) (Alfaro et al 2021 ). The HPV vaccine has been proven to reduce cervical cancer by 70–90% worldwide (Qu et al 2023 ). Although the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer have decreased year by year with the popularization of cervical cancer screening in recent years, it is still a serious health problem and a major public health issue, especially in middle and low-income countries (Boon et al 2913 ).…”

Lineage Replacement and Genetic Changes of Four HR-HPV Types during the Period of Vaccine Coverage: A Six-Year Retrospective Study in Eastern China

“…HPV genomes with sequence differences between 1% and 10% are classified as the same lineage, while those with sequence differences between 0.5% and 1% are classified as the same sublineage [5]. At present, 12 high-risk HPV types, closely related to carcinogenesis, have been identified as belonging to the α genera, while other low-risk types with low carcinogenic potential have been identified as low-risk HPV types [6]. Among them, HPV52 and HPV58 have a high incidence in China that is different from most parts of the world [7].…”