HPV Vaccine More Effective Than Thought
A company-funded study says Gardasil offers even more protection against cancer.
Sept. 20, 2007 — -- A study by the company that makes Gardasil, a vaccine that protects against cervical cancer, suggests it may be even more effective than previously thought.
The vaccine, manufactured by Merck, had previously been thought to only protect against 70 percent of cervical cancer caused by viruses. However, the new research indicates that it may also have at least some effect against viral strains that cause the other 30 percent.
The new data was presented this week by Merck at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.
The finding was an unexpected one, says study investigator Dr. Darron Brown, professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis.
"I was surprised at the high degree of cross protection — pleasantly surprised," he said.
And doctors unaffiliated with Merck agree that the research is promising.
"The data are very encouraging because they show cross protection against infection and disease caused by other HPV types that are not included in the vaccine," said Dr. Jessica Kahn, associate professor of pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Ohio.
The vaccine protects against cervical pre-cancer by priming the body's defenses against a sexually transmitted virus called the human papilloma virus (HPV). It specifically protects against four strains of the virus — strains 16 and 18, which lead to cervical pre-cancer, and strains 6 and 11, which cause genital warts.
What researchers found in the new study was that the vaccine may also offer partial protection against pre-cancerous lesions caused by 10 additional strains of HPV.
This could be especially important in preventing long-lasting infections, which are more likely to eventually lead to cancer.
"Seventy-five to 90 percent of infections go away," said Dr. Diane Harper, study investigator and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Dartmouth Medical School in Lebanon, N.H. "What we really want to prevent are persistent infections — those infections that stay and don't clear on their own."
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