Cervical Cancer Vaccine Reported To Be 100 Percent Effective, But Eradication Is Still A Long Way Of

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/



About The Author:



George McKenzie is a freelance writer and CEO of Mastermind

Learning Systems http://www.mastermindlearning.com. He's a former TV news anchor and radio talk show host.