Aggressive vaccine effort

Aggressive vaccine effort cut cervical cancer


US researchers said: an aggressive strategy of vaccinating could deliver a crippling blow against the disease, cutting rates for that type of cancer in half for women through age 45.

Using mathematical model, they showed that vaccinating women in the USA by ages 12 through 45 against the cancer causing humanpapillomavirus or HPV, could reduce cases of cervical cancer by 85% for 12 year olds and up to 55% for 45 year old women. It could lower rates by 34 to 67% for 25 year old women. The model assumed 100% vaccination rates, which would be tough to achieve in the USA.

Merck and Co's Gardasil vaccine is designed to protect against HPV types 16 and 18, which are known to cause about 70% of all cases of cervical cancer. Gardasil is approved in the USA for use in girls & women ages 9 to 26, but Merck is seeking to expand its use to older women. The thinking has been that girls must be vaccinated before they are sexually active, because HPV is so common.The vaccine does not protect anyone who has already been infected with one of the strains of HPV.

Huh's calculations included clinical trial data on GlaxoSmithKline's Cervarix vaccine, which is not yet approved for sale in the United States but which is approved in Europe. He assumed Cervarix gave 95 percent protection against HPV types 16 and 18, and 27 percent efficacy against all other high-risk HPV types. Vaccinating women over age 26 has not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and is not included in US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.