Women Cancer Health Treatment

A U.S. advisory panel recommended that 11- and 12-year-old girls be routinely vaccinated against the virus that causes cervical cancer. They also recommended that the vaccine, called Gardasil, which is made by Merck & Co., be administered to girls as young as 9, at the provider’s discretion, and for women up to age 26 who have not previously been vaccinated against the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV).

Clinical studies have shown that the Gardasil vaccine is 100-percent effective — when taken as prescribed in three doses — when given to girls before they become sexually active in preventing infection with HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18. About 7 percent of children have had sexual intercourse before age 13, and about a quarter of boys and girls have had sex by age 15, according to government surveys.
Types 6 and 11 are responsible for development of 90 percent of disfiguring genital warts; types 16 and 18 are responsible for the development of 70 percent of cervical cancer, a disease that kills 4,000 American women each year and about 250,000 women worldwide.
Like many other vaccinations, Gardasil will require three shots over six months. Even with the vaccine, women would still need to be screened for cervical cancer caused by other types of HPV, experts noted. This is most often accomplished by having a Pap test, which is still a very accurate indicator of a woman’s cervical condition.

Gardasil protects against the four strains of human papillomavirus, a common sexually transmitted disease, that cause most cases of cervical cancer and genital warts. In addition to cervical cancer and genital warts, clinical trials have also demonstrated that treatment with Gardasil protects against development of pre-cancerous changes associated with vaginal and vulvar malignancies as well.
The vaccine doesn’t work against other HPV strains. Although the vaccine-advisory panel said Gardasil should be given before they become sexually active, it also said “females who are sexually active should still be vaccinated.”

Dr. Cynthia Rand of the University of Rochester in New York said she believed most people would get the vaccine. She has started a series of studies on how many people would take the vaccine if offered.
“The minority of parents we interviewed didn’t think their children wouldn’t be needing it because their children wouldn’t be having sex. But they thought it would be needed in the general community,” she said in a telephone interview.
The American Cancer Society estimates that invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed in about 10,000 women in the U.S. in 2006, and about 3,700 women will die from the disease, WellPoint said.