Cost-effectiveness of a male catch-up human papillomavirus vaccination program in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, the Health Council has advised that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination should be offered to both boys and girls. Additionally, boys and men up to the age of 26 years should be included in a catchup program. In this study, we examine the cost-effectiveness of this HPV catch-up program.We used a static Markov model to estimate the amount of cancers prevented and the incremental costeffectiveness ratio (ICER) for different scenarios.Vaccinating men from 12 until the age of 26 years would result in an average of 48 cancer cases prevented in every cohort (an estimated total of 720 cases), with an average ICER of euro 32,256.We found that the catch-up vaccination program results in a relevant number prevented cases against an acceptable cost-effectiveness ratio. Policymakers should take these findings into account when evaluating a gender-neutral HPV vaccination program in the Netherlands.

Automated summary

The Health Council of the Netherlands recommends HPV vaccination for both boys and girls, and a catch-up program for males up to age 26. The study shows that vaccinating males can prevent a significant number of cancer cases with an acceptable cost-effectiveness ratio.