Medical researchers are on the
right way to find a cure for one of the deadliest and widely spread forms of
cancer, the cervical cancer. They have already designed a vaccine which is most
effective when administered to girls between 9 and 26, especially before
becoming sexually active.
The researchers are intending to extend
the approval of the vaccine for boys, too, according to a report from The New
York Times.
The researchers’ reasoning is that
human papilloma virus is sexually transmitted, and if boys could be vaccinated the
disease would slow.
Gardasil, manufactured by Merck,
was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2006, for girls and young
women, although it has been strongly criticized due to its high price.
Gardasil protects against four
types of HPV and it should be given in three doses over a six-month period. It
does not only protect against cervical cancer development, but also against
precancerous genital lesions and genital warts caused by HPV.
Researchers say that condoms are
not 100 percent sure against HPV infections, although they provide protection
against other diseases.
About 10,000 women are diagnosed
with cervical cancer, and 3,700 die each year.
But health officials say that HPV
infection should not be considered just a women’s problem, as women contact the
virus from men.
Gardasil’s maker, Merck, is
working on trials and as soon as next year the vaccine will be available for
boys, too. In Australia, Mexico and
countries of the European Union, the vaccine is approved for boys.
However, parents of boys are
reticent about having their sons vaccinated for a problem that is supposed to
be female-related. Researchers warn that two of the four HVP types for which
Gardasil is approved, are found in 90 percent of genital warts that affect both
men and women.
Referring to genital warts Dr.
Richard M. Haupt, Merck’s executive director of clinical research, said “We
have a very clear benefit that we offer to men, even if they don’t feel they
need to have an altruistic reason to get the vaccine,” The New York Times
quotes him as saying.
