News
Less than 3 years since its inception, the position of Chief Scientific Adviser to the President of the European Commission has been discontinued. “The mandate of the scientific adviser was linked to the mandate of the Barroso II Commission and automatically came to an end with the end of the Barroso II Commission on October 31”, explained Mina Andreeva, spokesperson for the new President, Jean-Claude Juncker. But had he wished, Juncker could have renewed the post, which was held by Anne Glover, a personal appointment of former President Jose Manuel Barroso. He chose not to. The reasons behind Juncker’s decision have not been disclosed. The role of Chief Scientific Adviser was established with a mandate to deliver “expert advice, analysis and opinion to the European Commission President”.
It was tasked to act as a “watchdog for the proper use of scientific evidence by the European Commission”. Earlier this year, Glover claimed that “a body like the European Commission is not used to the fact that someone does not speak the ‘official line’”. She added that some member states did not believe that a Chief Scientific Adviser was necessary. Having made the appointment, Barroso’s interest seemed to wane. Glover did not even meet with him until she had been in office for almost 2 months. She was under-resourced, working with a staff of just five, and her office faced accusations that it lacked accountability and transparency. Her support for genetically modified crops earned her the opposition of several non-governmental organisations. “We have always been clear that the role as it was could have been
improved”, Cancer Research UK’s Emma Greenwood told The Lancet Oncology. “But the fundamental principle of having scientific advice going into decision making is really important, and it is disappointing the role is not being taken forward”. She cites the example of EU Data Protection Regulation, which cuts across sectors and covers a widerange of issues. “Only a small part of that regulation is going to be relevant to medical research but we absolutely have to make sure that our voice is heard”. In such situations, the Chief Scientific Adviser is an ideal advocate. It is not clear what Juncker intends as a replacement. “President Juncker believes in independent scientific advice”, stressed Andreeva. “He has not yet decided how to institutionalise this independent scientific advice”.
Yves Herman/Reuters/Corbis
European Commission drops scientific advisor
Published Online November 21, 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S1470-2045(14)71127-1
Talha Khan Burki
UK committee recommends HPV vaccination for MSM The UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has recommended during its meeting in November, 2014, that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine should be offered to men who have sex with men (MSM). HPV vaccination has been offered to schoolgirls in the UK since 2008 to protect them from developing cervical cancer, with an additional catch-up programme for older girls and young women. However, the vaccine was not recommended to boys or MSM at that time because JCVI did not believe there was sufficient evidence that the vaccine would be a cost-effective way to prevent other HPV-related cancers such as penile, anal, and head, neck, and throat cancers. However, the protective effect of the vaccine against genital warts seems to have swayed the committee. The JCVI’s November, 2014, report recommends offering vaccination at sexual health www.thelancet.com/oncology Vol 16 January 2015
clinics to MSM aged between 16 and 40 years. The report says: “Although such a programme would be very likely to prevent HPV-associated cancers in MSM, the model had indicated that an even more substantial benefit could be realised from the prevention of ano-genital warts.” “The JCVI have identified that gay men are at high risk of HPV infection due to the fact that they won’t receive any herd protection, unlike men who have sex with women who receive some protection from the widespread vaccination of girls”, says Sarah Williams, senior health information officer at Cancer Research UK. Australia has just started vaccinating schoolboys as well as schoolgirls to protect them from HPV-related cancers and genital warts. “The reasons for choosing to vaccinate school-aged girls (and now boys) is that the vaccine was designed to prevent HPV infection,
not to treat established infection. Thus, vaccinating schoolchildren prior to them becoming sexually active is the ideal timing”, says Ian Olver, chief executive of the Cancer Council of Australia. “The best way of protecting gay men would therefore be to vaccinate boys rather than older men who are sexually active and may well have already acquired HPV infection.” Elsewhere, the US National Cancer Institute, recognising the increasing burden of HPV cancers in men and women, aims to have 80% HPV vaccination coverage in both boys and girls across the USA by 2020. This could be an ambitious target because only 38% of girls and 14% of boys completed the recommended three dose vaccination schedule in 2013, and because of resistance by some parents who do not think their child would be at risk.
Published Online November 21, 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S1470-2045(14)71128-3 For the JCVI meeting minutes see https://app.box.com/s/ iddfb4ppwkmtjusir2tc/ 1/2199012147/22846051967/1
Tony Kirby e7
Less than 3 years since its inception, the position of Chief Scientific Adviser to the President of the European Commission has been discontinued. “The mandate of the scientific adviser was linked to the mandate of the Barroso II Commission and automatically came to an end with the end of the Barroso II Commission on October 31”, explained Mina Andreeva, spokesperson for the new President, Jean-Claude Juncker. But had he wished, Juncker could have renewed the post, which was held by Anne Glover, a personal appointment of former President Jose Manuel Barroso. He chose not to. The reasons behind Juncker’s decision have not been disclosed. The role of Chief Scientific Adviser was established with a mandate to deliver “expert advice, analysis and opinion to the European Commission President”.
It was tasked to act as a “watchdog for the proper use of scientific evidence by the European Commission”. Earlier this year, Glover claimed that “a body like the European Commission is not used to the fact that someone does not speak the ‘official line’”. She added that some member states did not believe that a Chief Scientific Adviser was necessary. Having made the appointment, Barroso’s interest seemed to wane. Glover did not even meet with him until she had been in office for almost 2 months. She was under-resourced, working with a staff of just five, and her office faced accusations that it lacked accountability and transparency. Her support for genetically modified crops earned her the opposition of several non-governmental organisations. “We have always been clear that the role as it was could have been
improved”, Cancer Research UK’s Emma Greenwood told The Lancet Oncology. “But the fundamental principle of having scientific advice going into decision making is really important, and it is disappointing the role is not being taken forward”. She cites the example of EU Data Protection Regulation, which cuts across sectors and covers a widerange of issues. “Only a small part of that regulation is going to be relevant to medical research but we absolutely have to make sure that our voice is heard”. In such situations, the Chief Scientific Adviser is an ideal advocate. It is not clear what Juncker intends as a replacement. “President Juncker believes in independent scientific advice”, stressed Andreeva. “He has not yet decided how to institutionalise this independent scientific advice”.
Yves Herman/Reuters/Corbis
European Commission drops scientific advisor
Published Online November 21, 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S1470-2045(14)71127-1
Talha Khan Burki
UK committee recommends HPV vaccination for MSM The UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has recommended during its meeting in November, 2014, that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine should be offered to men who have sex with men (MSM). HPV vaccination has been offered to schoolgirls in the UK since 2008 to protect them from developing cervical cancer, with an additional catch-up programme for older girls and young women. However, the vaccine was not recommended to boys or MSM at that time because JCVI did not believe there was sufficient evidence that the vaccine would be a cost-effective way to prevent other HPV-related cancers such as penile, anal, and head, neck, and throat cancers. However, the protective effect of the vaccine against genital warts seems to have swayed the committee. The JCVI’s November, 2014, report recommends offering vaccination at sexual health www.thelancet.com/oncology Vol 16 January 2015
clinics to MSM aged between 16 and 40 years. The report says: “Although such a programme would be very likely to prevent HPV-associated cancers in MSM, the model had indicated that an even more substantial benefit could be realised from the prevention of ano-genital warts.” “The JCVI have identified that gay men are at high risk of HPV infection due to the fact that they won’t receive any herd protection, unlike men who have sex with women who receive some protection from the widespread vaccination of girls”, says Sarah Williams, senior health information officer at Cancer Research UK. Australia has just started vaccinating schoolboys as well as schoolgirls to protect them from HPV-related cancers and genital warts. “The reasons for choosing to vaccinate school-aged girls (and now boys) is that the vaccine was designed to prevent HPV infection,
not to treat established infection. Thus, vaccinating schoolchildren prior to them becoming sexually active is the ideal timing”, says Ian Olver, chief executive of the Cancer Council of Australia. “The best way of protecting gay men would therefore be to vaccinate boys rather than older men who are sexually active and may well have already acquired HPV infection.” Elsewhere, the US National Cancer Institute, recognising the increasing burden of HPV cancers in men and women, aims to have 80% HPV vaccination coverage in both boys and girls across the USA by 2020. This could be an ambitious target because only 38% of girls and 14% of boys completed the recommended three dose vaccination schedule in 2013, and because of resistance by some parents who do not think their child would be at risk.
Published Online November 21, 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S1470-2045(14)71128-3 For the JCVI meeting minutes see https://app.box.com/s/ iddfb4ppwkmtjusir2tc/ 1/2199012147/22846051967/1
Tony Kirby e7
