OBJECTIVE. To assess the immunogenicity and safety of human papillomavirus-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted cervical cancer vaccine in Chinese women aged 18 to 35 years enrolled from Hong Kong.

DESIGN. Double-blind, randomised controlled trial with vaccine and placebo groups.

SETTING. Single-centre study in Hong Kong.

PARTICIPANTS. Three hundred women enrolled (150 per group) between March 2006 and June 2007.

INTERVENTIONS. Subjects received three doses of human papillomavirus-16/18 vaccine or placebo (aluminium hydroxide), administered intramuscularly at 0, 1, and 6 months.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES. Human papillomavirus-16/18 seroconversion rates and geometric mean titres at month 7 (in human papillomavirus-16/18 recipients); reactogenicity and safety (in all subjects).

RESULTS. A total of 294 women completed the study (148 in the vaccine group, 146 in placebo group). All initially seronegative subjects in the vaccine group had seroconverted for human papillomavirus-16/18 antibodies by month 7. Anti-human papillomavirus-16 and anti-human papillomavirus-18 antibody geometric mean titres were 10 422 (95% confidence interval, 8730-12 442) EL.U/mL and 4649 (3975-5437) EL.U/mL, respectively. High compliance (99% in both groups) was observed for the three-vaccination course. The frequencies of local injection site reactions were higher in the vaccine than placebo group; pain being the most common symptom in both groups. Regarding solicited symptoms, fatigue and myalgia were the most frequent in both groups. Five serious adverse events (four in vaccine group, one in placebo group) were reported, but all were considered unrelated to the vaccinations.

CONCLUSION. The human papillomavirus-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine was highly immunogenic, safe, and generally well tolerated in Chinese women from Hong Kong.

Key words: Adjuvants, immunologic; Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia; Human papillomavirus 16; Human papillomavirus 18; Uterine cervical neoplasms

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