EDGE Boston

Ladies and Gentlemen, add another armament in the stockades against the fight against HPV (Human papillomavirus). Ceravix has been approved by the the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Gardasil, manufactured by Merck, had already been approved. Like Gardasil, Ceravix is approved for girls and women from ages 10 to 26 although Ceravix has been studied in women up to age 55 (but were not found to be beneficial to women over 45.)

In documents posted online, the FDA said Ceravix has been proven to block 100% of the HPV virus (strains 16 and 18), that is responsible for 90 percent of the Cervical Cancers. The study also strengthens earlier preliminary evidence that the vaccine provides significant protection against infection with additional cancer-causing virus types (such as penile cancers in men and anal cancers in both men and women).

How effective is Ceravix? Studies show that women who receive Cervarix between the ages of 15 and 25 have 100% protection against the two strains of HPV for 4.5 years. The United States, however, has been slow to adopt the two vaccines, Gardasil and Ceravix. Other developed countries, Europe and Australia, for example, have been vaccinating their young girls (aged 10 to 26) against the HPV virus. Numerous studies have shown that the vaccines block the virus from developing into cancerous lesions in the cervix. Another worldwide study showed that the HPV Vaccine Ceravix produced a robust immune response for both virus types 16 and 18.1. This strong immune response has been shown to persist for up to 5.5 years in previous studies. This was as of 2007 in a study performed in Australia.

A study performed more recently here in the United States, the FDA stated the study of the vaccine enrolled more than 18,000 women who either received Cervarix or a placebo. The FDA said the vaccine appears to fight the HPV virus for more than six years, based on company data. Side effects were minor, such as pain and swelling at the injection site.

Another bonus in favor Gardasil, is that the vaccine also has been shown to block the HPV types (6 & 11) that cause 90% of genital warts, whereas Ceravix is not targeted towards those virus that cause genital warts.

Worldwide, more than 500,000 women will be newly diagnosed with cervical cancer and over 280,000 women will die from it each year.7 In the United States, after breast cancer, cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women ages 20-39.8 Cervical cancer and pre-cancerous lesions are a major health, psychological and social burden on women everywhere.

Published data shows that at any given time, only 2.3 per cent of women aged 14-59 are currently infected with cancer-causing human papillomavirus types 16 and 18. Only 0.1 per cent are currently infected with both types. Therefore, the vast majority of these women (up to 99.9 per cent) may benefit from vaccination as they are not actively infected with these virus types and are potentially at risk for developing an infection in the future.

http://cancer.about.com/od/hpvcervicalcancervaccine/p/cervarix.htm

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/75783.php

http://www.oxfexecutivehealth.com/gardasil_vaccination.htm

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32693872/ns/health-sexual_health/