Gardasil: the first-ever vaccine against cancer
The FDA has approved the first-ever vaccine against cancer: Gardasil. In clinical trials Gardasil, manufactured by Merck, has been 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18 of the Papillomavirus, which together cause 70% of cervical cancer cases. The vaccine is also 99% effective in preventing HPV strains 6 and 11, which together with strains 16 and 18 cause about 90% of genital wart cases.
Cervical cancer rates in the USA and other developed countries have plummeted since the introduction of the Pap test more than a half-century ago. But the disease is still the second-most-common malignancy and a leading cancer killer of women worldwide.
HPV is primarily transmitted through genital-to-genital sexual contact. A recent study conducted by Dr. Maura Gillison at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center furthered the premise that HPV is linked with certain types of oral cancer. In 25% of 253 patients diagnosed with head and neck cancers, the tissue taken from tumors was HPV positive and HPV 16 was present in 90% of these positive HPV tissues. This information helps to confirm that there is a strong link between HPV 16 and oral cancer. 25% of those diagnosed with oral cancer are non-smokers while the other 75% of those diagnosed have used tobacco in some form during their lifetimes. The research into the relationship of HPV and oral malignancies may give us clues as to the origin of cancer in those 25% of diagnosed individuals who did not smoke.
Further research is being conducted into the relationship of HPV with oral cancers. Oral sex has become an accepted norm, yet HPV lesions are very uncommon in the mouth. Essentially, oral sex appears to have a risk of transmission of HPV as recent studies report high-risk HPV in approximately 1/4 of oral cancers.
The FDA approved Gardasil for use in girls and women ages 9 through 26, the age group studied in clinical trials submitted by vaccine maker Merck. Merck says it has priced Gardasil at $120 a shot. Vaccinated women will still need regular screenings for cervical cancer, because Gardasil does not protect against all cancer-causing HPV types. -> Read more
References:
First-ever cancer vaccine approved
Oral sex linked to throat cancer
Top 10 Killers for Women
Sep 2nd, 2007 at 2:50 pm
[...] Gardasil: the first-ever vaccine against cancer [...]
Mar 14th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
[...] by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the new vaccine—called Cervarix—would join the Gardasil vaccine in the fight against cervical cancer. The disease is caused by abnormal, malignant cell growth on [...]