Long Island Newsday Examines HPV Vaccine Development's Effect On Cervical Cancer Prevention

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Immune System / Vaccines;  Cervical Cancer / HPV Vaccine;  Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 28 Jul 2006 - 9:00 PDT

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Long Island Newsday on Tuesday examined the "new era" of cervical cancer prevention, which has begun with the development of vaccines protecting against strains of the human papillomavirus that cause most cases of the cancer (Ricks, Long Island Newsday, 7/25). Both Merck's HPV vaccine Gardasil and GlaxoSmithKline's experimental HPV vaccine Cervarix in clinical trials have been shown to be 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18, which together cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 6/8). FDA last month approved Gardasil for sale and marketing to girls and women ages nine to 26, and CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices later that month voted unanimously to recommend that all girls ages 11 and 12 receive the vaccine (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 7/25). According to Newsday, some conservative organizations, including Focus on the Family, are opposing state-mandated HPV vaccination, while some public health workers, including Robert Ozols of the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, support routine HPV vaccination for girls and boys. According to Newsday, even if "large-scale" HPV vaccination is implemented, Pap tests will not become outdated, as Gardasil and Cervarix only protect against some of the more than 200 HPV subtypes (Long Island Newsday, 7/25).

"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.

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