PREVENTION / SPOTLIGHT

A Shot at Prevention

BY DON VAUGHAN

HPV vaccination may someday hold promise beyond fighting just cervical cancer

Gardasil, a long-awaited human papillomavirus vaccine, has been promoted primarily as a way to prevent cervical cancer, a condition that affects 10,000 U.S. women each year. Gardasil targets four main HPV types, two of which are responsible for 70 percent of all cervical cancers.

Yet because the virus affects other parts of the body, vaccination may eventually prove useful in fighting other types of cancer, perhaps even providing protection in men. However, studies looking at the effectiveness of Gardasil and other HPV vaccines in men are yet to come.

For women, the value of HPV vaccination is clear. Experts say that if administered as directed and in the appropriate populations, the vaccine has the potential to dramatically reduce the number of cervical cancers. ...

[THIS STORY APPEARS IN FULL IN THE SPRING 2008 ISSUE OF HEAL]