A hotly-contested race is taking place among America’s pharmaceutical giants to become the first company to release the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine. The vaccine has shown great success in protecting test subjects against cervical cancer, which is caused by a number of different strands of HPV. Both Merck and GlaxoSmithKline have begun large trials in an attempt to get their respective vaccines approved first. While many cancer vaccines are being researched in the country, the HPV-cervical cancer variety is the one considered closest to approval. Fox News reports:
Experts say the highly anticipated cervical cancer vaccine could have a huge impact on the thousands of women with this cancer worldwide. About 500,000 women get cervical cancer each year, mostly in developing nations without screening programs. Half end up dying from the disease.
“This is a very exciting time,” researcher Luisa L. Villa, PhD, tells WebMD. “We have shown that this vaccine is highly effective. Universal vaccination could lead to dramatic declines in cervical cancer.”
The HPV vaccine targets four high-risk strains of HPV — types 16, 18, 6, and 11. About 70% of cervical cancers are caused by infection with HPV 16 and HPV 18, and 90 percent of genital warts are caused by infection with types 6 and 11.
The study, which was funded by the vaccine’s manufacturer, Merck, involved 277 sexually active young women who were given the HPV vaccine and 275 sexually active women who were given a placebo vaccine. The women showed no prior abnormalities on cervical exams.
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The vaccine reduced persistent HPV infection by 90 percent and was 100 percent effective three years later in preventing precancerous cervical lesions and genital warts. The findings are published in the April 7 online edition of The Lancet Oncology.
The vaccine will not replace Pap smears, she says, because the vaccine does not protect against about a dozen HPV strains that cause between 25 percent and 30 percent of cervical cancers. And there is some concern that vaccinating against the two major cervical cancer agents will lead to an increase in these other cancer-causing strains.
“This vaccine could have a huge impact if you could vaccinate young girls in countries that don’t have routine cervical cancer screening,” Saslow tells WebMD. “But these are the countries that are going to be least able to afford it. And within the U.S. it isn’t likely that people who are not being screened will get vaccinated.”
Saslow says the vaccine has a lot of potential, but there are a lot of unanswered questions about its use.
“Even if this vaccine isn’t perfect, it is still very exciting to think that within a few years we may have one that really can prevent all cervical cancers,” she says.
