Hartford Courant Examines Potential For HPV Vaccine Gardasil To Prevent Oral Cancer

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Cervical Cancer / HPV Vaccine;  Immune System / Vaccines
Article Date: 26 Jun 2006 - 6:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

The Hartford Courant on Wednesday examined how Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil could prevent oral cancer, as at least one-quarter of oral cancer cases might be linked to HPV (Waldman, Hartford Courant, 6/21). FDA earlier this month approved Gardasil -- which is given in three injections over six months and will cost $360 -- for sale and marketing to girls and women ages nine to 26. According to Merck, Gardasil in clinical trials has been shown to be 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18 -- which together cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases -- in women who do not already have HPV. In addition, the vaccine was shown to be about 99% effective in preventing HPV strains 6 and 11, which together with strains 16 and 18 cause about 90% of genital wart cases (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 6/19). Johns Hopkins University researchers in 2000 found that 25% of 253 people who were living with head and neck tumors were also positive for HPV strain 16. Although no firm connection between sexual practices such as kissing and oral sex has been made, some studies suggest such a connection between being positive for HPV and the tumors, according to the Courant. Cancerous tumors that are positive for strains of HPV most commonly appear in the throat and tonsils and seem to be more responsive to treatment than cancer tumors that are negative for HPV, the Courant reports. About 30,000 people are diagnosed with oral cancer in the U.S. annually (Hartford Courant, 6/21).

"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

• Additional
• References
• Citations