Cervical Cancer Vaccine Reported To Be 100%, But Eradication Is Still A Long Way Off
The first large study of the experimental cervical cancer
vaccine found it was 100 percent effective, at least in the
short term, at blocking the most common forms of cervical
cancer.
The cervical cancer vaccine, known as Gardasil, is a
genetically engineered vaccine which prevents cervical
cancer by blocking infection with two viruses called HPV 16
and 18. These two virus together cause about 70 percent of
cervical cancers.
The final-stage study of the cervical cancer vaccine
Gardasil included more than 10,000 women ages 16 to 26 in
the United States and 12 other countries. All were
sexually active and were not infected with HPV 16 or 18.
Half got three vaccine doses over six months; the other half
received dummy shots.
After six months, none of the women who were virus free and
who received the vaccine developed either cervical cancer or
precancerous lesions likely to turn cancerous during a two
year follow up. Twenty one women who got the dummy shots
had a virus.
Merck & Co., the developer, jubilantly announced the results
of their cervical cancer vaccine research on October 6th,
2005, saying that a 100% efficacy rate is extremely rare.
A second analysis was also done, this time involving
hundreds more women. It showed that the vaccine was 97
percent effective after just one dose. Only one
of the 5,736 women who got the vaccine developed cervical
cancer or precancerous lesions, compared with 36 among the
5,766 who got dummy shots.
A Merck official called the 97 percent rate “real world,”
since patients sometimes miss or delay follow-up shots or
tests. Therefore, even though the vaccine is available,
some women may not get it before they contract the disease.
“I see this as a phenomenal breakthrough,” said Dr. Gloria
Bachmann, director of The Women’s Health Institute at Robert
Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey.
But she added that vaccinations would have to begin early to
have maximum impact. “In grammar school, middle school, high
school, before girls become sexually active,” she said.
Dr. Kevin Ault, a professor at Emory University, told CNN,
“We are talking about maybe a generation or two of women to
receive this vaccine before we get to no more pap smears. I
guess the best example I could give you would be German
measles… That vaccine became available in the late ’60s in
the United States, and it was just last year that our
colleagues at the CDC reported that there were no cases of
congenital rubella in the United States.”
Numerous health officials warned that women will still need
to have reular checkups and pap smears.
NBC News has reported that some religious groups fear that
the availability of a cervical cancer vaccine will lessen
the worry of contracting the disease and lead to increased
sexual activity.
Cervical cancer is the second-most common cancer in women
and their No. 2 cause of cancer deaths. About three thousand
women die of cervical cancer in the U.S. each year, and
about three hundred thousand women around the world are
cervical cancer victims.
For additional information, including symptoms of cervical
cancer and options for cervical cancer prevention and
cervical cancer treatment, click on
http://www.cervicalcancervaccine.us
For more information on the topics covered in this article, click on Cervical Cancer Vaccine
George McKenzie is a retired TV anchor, medical reporter and radio talk show host.
Tags: cancer, cervical cancer, cervical cancer vaccine
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