CANCER: The HPV Vaccine

BY:MYRA DEMBROW

Researchers estimate about 10,400 new cases of cervical cancer were diagnosed in the U.S. last year, with 3,700 deaths. Another 6,000 American women were diagnosed with vaginal or vulvar cancers. All of these diseases are caused by strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV). About 20 million Americans have the virus, although most don't know it. The most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States, HPV often has no symptoms and can disappear without treatment.

But a new vaccine, Gardasil, protects against the most common forms of HPV—thereby fending off cervical, vaginal and vulvar cancers and making it among the most significant health breakthroughs of the year. In June, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its use in girls and women between the ages of nine and 26 years.

Even with this vaccine, condom use should be continued. Besides preventing the spread of STDs such as HIV/AIDS, syphilis and more, such use further reduces the occurrence of HPV infection. A study of 82 college students, published in the June 22, 2006, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, found that the instance of HPV infection dropped 70 percent when condoms were used every time the students had intercourse.

"Women can significantly reduce their risk of HPV infection by using condoms consistently with their male partners, but it's not one hundred percent effective," says Rachel Winer, the study's lead author and a research scientist at the University of Washington. "Other preventive measures, including regular screenings, remain very important."

The vaccine doesn't protect against rare types of HPV. As a result, women should continue regular Pap tests to detect precancerous changes in the cervix, warns the FDA.