Parent-Reported Provider Recommendation of HPV Vaccination Among Minority Adolescents Before and During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Findings From the National Immunization Survey-Teen, 2019-2021

Provider recommendation of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among adolescents has steadily improved over the years, however, limited research has been conducted to examine if the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted this positive trend in parent-reported provider recommendation among minority adolescents. Therefore, we conducted the present study to determine if there is an association between the pandemic and parent-reported provider recommendation of HPV vaccine among non-Hispanic black and Hispanic adolescents. We also examined whether any changes in parent-reported provider recommendation in the years 2019, 2020, and 2021 differed by race or ethnicity. Using a cross-sectional design to examine data from the National Immunization Survey-Teen (2019-2021), a moderation analysis and logistic regression analysis were performed to model race-specific variation in parent-reported provider recommendation (n = 50,739). We found that Hispanic parents had lower odds (aOR = 0.80 [0.71, 0.91]) of reporting receiving a recommendation compared to non-Hispanic white parents. We also found that the odds of parent-reported provider recommendation were higher in 2020 (aOR = 1.15 [1.03-1.29]) than in 2019. Other variables-age, region, sex, health insurance status, and poverty status-were all associated with parent-reported provider recommendation. These findings demonstrated that the pandemic may not have triggered any race-related gap in the recommendation of HPV vaccines, however, more pandemic-resilient public health efforts are needed to improve parent and provider communication regarding HPV vaccination of adolescents

The Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Adolescents During the Covid-19 Pandemic

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among adolescents has steadily improved over the past several years. However, research conducted to determine whether the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted this positive trend in HPV vaccine initiation among racial and ethnic minority adolescents is limited. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine if the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting changes in the US health-care sector affected the increasing HPV vaccine initiation among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic adolescents aged 13-17 years. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional design to examine data from the National Immunization Survey-Teen (2019-2021), logistic regression and moderation analysis were used to model race-specific variations in HPV vaccine initiation (n = 49 031). Two-sided P values of up to .05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Hispanic (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.16 to 1.57) and non-Hispanic Black (AOR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.10 to 1.51) adolescents had higher odds of HPV vaccine initiation than did non-Hispanic White adolescents. Additionally, the odds of HPV vaccine initiation were higher in 2021 (AOR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.08 to 1.38) than in 2019. Other variables-age, region, sex, insurance status, and poverty status-were also associated with HPV vaccine initiation. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate that during the COVID-19 pandemic, racial and ethnic minorities had higher odds of receiving the HPV vaccine. Therefore, more research of the impact of the pandemic on HPV vaccine initiation among non-Hispanic White and racial and ethnic minority adolescents is needed

Phase Ib/Ii Study of Lacnotuzumab in Combination With Spartalizumab in Patients With advanced Malignancies

INTRODUCTION: Blocking the colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF-1) signal on tumor-associated macrophages can lead to an upregulation of checkpoint molecules, such as programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1), thus causing resistance to this blockade. Combining spartalizumab (PDR001), a high-affinity, ligand-blocking, humanized anti-PD-1 immunoglobulin G4 antibody, with lacnotuzumab (MCS110), a high-affinity, humanized monoclonal antibody directed against human CSF-1 can potentially overcome this resistance. METHODS: This was a multicenter, phase Ib/II trial using a combination of spartalizumab with lacnotuzumab in patients with advanced cancers, including anti-PD-1/PD-L1 treatment-resistant melanoma, and anti-PD-1/PD-L1 treatment-naïve triple-negative breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, and endometrial cancer (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02807844). The primary objective of dose escalation phase Ib was to assess safety, tolerability, and recommended phase II dose. The primary objective of the phase II expansion study was to assess the combination\u27s antitumor activity, including objective response rate and clinical benefit rate. RESULTS: A total of eight patients (five in phase Ib and three in phase II) were evaluable for adverse events (AEs) at our study site. All eight patients experienced at least grade 1 AE. The most common treatment-related AEs were increased serum aspartate aminotransferase (38%), fatigue (38%), anemia (25%), increased alkaline phosphatase (25%), hyperbilirubinemia (25%), hypocalcemia (25%), and hypoalbuminemia (25%). Most of these AEs were grade 1 or 2. None of the patients experienced grade 4 AEs and no drug-related fatal AEs were reported among the eight patients treated in the study. One (13%) patient had stable disease (SD) (captured as unknown by the study sponsor because the evaluation criteria set per protocol was not met) and three (38%) patients had progressive disease. Four (50%) patients developed clinical disease progression based on investigator evaluation. One patient with pancreatic cancer achieved immune-related SD for 26 months while on the study treatments. CONCLUSION: The study completed phase Ib dose escalation and phase II. However, gating criteria for efficacy were not met for expansion beyond 80 patients in phase II and the sponsor did not continue development of the combination of spartalizumab and lacnotuzumab for oncology indications. The potential signal of activity in pancreatic cancer should be further explored

Adherence to the Recommended HPV Vaccine Dosing Schedule among Adolescents Aged 13 to 17 Years: Findings from the National Immunization Survey-Teen, 2019–2020

The 9-valent human papillomavirus (9-vHPV) vaccine uptake rate among adolescents has improved over the years; however, little is known about the adherence to the recommended dosing schedule. This study examines the prevalence and factors associated with adherence to the recommended 9vHPV vaccination dosing schedule among adolescents aged 13 to 17 years. The cross-sectional study was conducted using the 2019–2020 National Immunization Survey-Teen. The parents of 34,619 adolescents were included in our analyses. The overall up-to-date (UTD) prevalence was 57.1%. The UTD prevalence was 60.0% among females and 54.2% among males. Adolescents aged 16 years had the highest UTD prevalence of 63.0%. The UTD prevalence was 61.6% among Hispanics and 54.7% among non-Hispanic Whites. Overall, compared to females, males had 14% lower odds of UTD. The odds of UTD were 1.91 times, 2.08 times, and 1.98 times higher among adolescents aged 15–17 years, respectively, compared to those aged 13 years. Moreover, region, poverty, insurance status, mothers’ educational level, and provider recommendation were associated with UTD. Our findings show that adherence to the recommended 9vHPV vaccine schedule is low in the US. Targeted public health efforts are needed to improve the rates of adherence to the recommended 9vHPV dose schedule

Adherence to the Recommended HPV Vaccine Dosing Schedule among Adolescents Aged 13 to 17 Years: Findings from the National Immunization Survey-Teen, 2019–2020

The 9-valent human papillomavirus (9-vHPV) vaccine uptake rate among adolescents has improved over the years; however, little is known about the adherence to the recommended dosing schedule. This study examines the prevalence and factors associated with adherence to the recommended 9vHPV vaccination dosing schedule among adolescents aged 13 to 17 years. The cross-sectional study was conducted using the 2019–2020 National Immunization Survey-Teen. The parents of 34,619 adolescents were included in our analyses. The overall up-to-date (UTD) prevalence was 57.1%. The UTD prevalence was 60.0% among females and 54.2% among males. Adolescents aged 16 years had the highest UTD prevalence of 63.0%. The UTD prevalence was 61.6% among Hispanics and 54.7% among non-Hispanic Whites. Overall, compared to females, males had 14% lower odds of UTD. The odds of UTD were 1.91 times, 2.08 times, and 1.98 times higher among adolescents aged 15–17 years, respectively, compared to those aged 13 years. Moreover, region, poverty, insurance status, mothers’ educational level, and provider recommendation were associated with UTD. Our findings show that adherence to the recommended 9vHPV vaccine schedule is low in the US. Targeted public health efforts are needed to improve the rates of adherence to the recommended 9vHPV dose schedule

Parent-reported provider recommendation of HPV vaccination among minority adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from the National Immunization Survey-Teen, 2019–2021

Provider recommendation of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among adolescents has steadily improved over the years, however, limited research has been conducted to examine if the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted this positive trend in parent-reported provider recommendation among minority adolescents. Therefore, we conducted the present study to determine if there is an association between the pandemic and parent-reported provider recommendation of HPV vaccine among non-Hispanic black and Hispanic adolescents. We also examined whether any changes in parent-reported provider recommendation in the years 2019, 2020, and 2021 differed by race or ethnicity. Using a cross-sectional design to examine data from the National Immunization Survey-Teen (2019–2021), a moderation analysis and logistic regression analysis were performed to model race-specific variation in parent-reported provider recommendation (n = 50,739). We found that Hispanic parents had lower odds (aOR = 0.80 [0.71, 0.91]) of reporting receiving a recommendation compared to non-Hispanic white parents. We also found that the odds of parent-reported provider recommendation were higher in 2020 (aOR = 1.15 [1.03–1.29]) than in 2019. Other variables–age, region, sex, health insurance status, and poverty status–were all associated with parent-reported provider recommendation. These findings demonstrated that the pandemic may not have triggered any race-related gap in the recommendation of HPV vaccines, however, more pandemic-resilient public health efforts are needed to improve parent and provider communication regarding HPV vaccination of adolescents