HPV Vaccines

In April 2005 doctors and researchers reported a breakthrough in HPV vaccine creation by a drug company called Merck & Co. Test of a HPV vaccine showed a 90 percent reduction in the infection rate of people who took the vaccine. The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of an HPV vaccine on June 8, 2006. 


Introduction

Medical advancements have decreased the annual number of cervical cancer-related incidents and deaths. However, researchers have developed an even more important breakthrough that is aimed at preventing cervical cancer in women. The HPV vaccines target the virus known as human papilloma or HPV that is associated with at last half of all cervical cancers.

History Of HPV Vaccines

Researchers worldwide have been studying the causes of cervical cancer for many years. An HPV vaccine was finally developed with collaboration from Georgetown University Medical Center, University of Rochester, the US National Cancer Institute and Australia’s Queensland University. The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of an HPV vaccine on June 8, 2006. Clinical studies revealed a 100% success rate in preventing strains 16 and 18 of the HPV virus. This discovery is a significant medical breakthrough since the 2 HPV strains prevented by the vaccine cause up to 70% of all cervical cancer cases. Canada approved use of the vaccination on July 11, 2006.

How Does The HPV Vaccine Work?

The HPV virus is very common in men and women and infects most sexually active individuals at some point. In fact, approximately 6.2 million people in the US contract HPV each year. Most people remain unaware they were ever infected; the virus doesn’t normally produce any visible symptoms and the human body is usually able to fight the virus fairly easily. However, an HPV virus that remains in a woman’s cervix for too long may eventually cause cervical cells to develop into cancerous tissue.

The HPV vaccine currently targets the two most common HPV types and prevents women from contracting these strains. This greatly reduces a woman’s chances of contracting cervical cancer. After the vaccination is first administered, women return for a second dose two months later, and a third and final dose in six months. Vaccinated women may experience minor side effects such as pain or tenderness at the injection site, dizziness or fever, but no major adverse effects have been reported.

Who Should Be Vaccinated?

The HPV virus linked to cervical cancer is sexually transmitted. Therefore, women should ideally be vaccinated before they become sexually active. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices or ACIP recommends administering the vaccine to girls aged 11-12, but the vaccine can be safely administered to girls as young as 9. In worldwide tests conducted with 1100 females between the ages of 9 and 15, 99% of the participants developed antibodies to HPV after receiving the vaccination.

Although several different strains of the HPV virus exist, few women are infected with more than one strain. Therefore, women who have already been infected with the disease can still benefit from the HPV vaccine. The vaccination will not prevent infection from the particular type(s) of HPV they have already contracted, but it will protect women against the remaining strains. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention offers more information regarding who should be vaccinated on their website.

Cost Issues

The retail cost of one dose of the HPV vaccination is $120 US or $360 US for the entire series which consists of 3 shots administered within one year. Many larger health plans cover the cost, but some do not so individuals should check with their own provider. Some public health clinics will provide the vaccine for little or no cost to individuals with no health care coverage. Other federal health plans such as Vaccines 4 Children provide free HPV vaccinations for individuals under 19 who are uninsured, ineligible for health insurance, Native Alaskan or American Indian. The Community Health Administration provides detailed information about this program on their website . Researchers are working on developing a much more inexpensive version of the HPV vaccine to encourage global access to the immunizations.

Social Issues

Worldwide access to the HPV vaccine is one of the more important social issues. Critics have argued that the vaccine will be unavailable to most of the women living in the poorer, less developed countries where cervical cancer is most prevalent. Because of the vaccine’s high cost, the majority of women who have been denied access to traditional screening methods such as Pap smears and pelvic examinations may also be denied access to this preventative measure.

In addition to the high cost of the HPV vaccine, other social issues have arisen. For example, more studies need to be conducted on males since they also contract and spread the HPV virus. This would lower the rate of cervical cancer in women even further because the disease would be spread to fewer women.

Furthermore, many individuals oppose the vaccine based on religious or moral beliefs. They argue that making the HPV vaccination mandatory is like condoning pre-marital sex since the HPV virus is sexually transmitted. Reginald Finger, a public health doctor who has chosen not to personally judge the issue, reveals a current opinion shared by many others: «There are people who sense that it could cause people to feel like sexual behaviors are safer if they are vaccinated and may lead to more sexual behavior because they feel safe». However, individuals such as Mark Feinberg, Vice President of medical affairs and policy advocates mandatory vaccination: «If you really want to have cervical cancer rates fall as much as possible as quickly as possible, then you want as many people to get vaccinated as possible». He adds that «school mandates have been one of the most effective ways to increase immunization rates».

To complicate the issue even further, other groups such as the Christian organization Focus on the Family support making the HPV vaccine available worldwide. However, they believe parents should retain the right to decide whether minors receive the vaccination. Many American states already offer exemptions for other vaccines based on a person’s religious or philosophical beliefs. Therefore, important decisions will have to be made regarding the implementation of mandatory vaccination programs and personal exemptions for this new vaccine.

Political Controversy Regarding Mandatory/Voluntary HPV Vaccination

Currently, no country has adopted federal laws requiring all females to be vaccinated. As of February 2007, Texas is the only US state that requires HPV vaccination for women. You can read more about this political controversy here.  Some individuals believe that the decision to receive the vaccination should remain a personal one. However, others believe that the only viable solution to reducing cervical cancer rates is to make the vaccination mandatory for women within a certain age range.

Another political controversy involves the high cost of administering the HPV vaccine. If every girl in the US received an HPV vaccination, the national health care cost could end up totaling 1.5 billion. Some existing vaccines cost as little as 1/10 in comparison. Therefore, some people are arguing the cost of the program doesn’t justify the benefits.

Therapeutic Vaccines

Current HPV vaccines only protect individuals against HPV strains they haven’t yet contracted. Therefore, they are considered preventative, rather than therapeutic. However, therapeutic vaccines are currently being developed to protect individuals who already possess the HPV virus against the development of malignant or cancerous tumors.

In addition to developing new HPV vaccines that are much less expensive, researchers are also working on developing more portable therapeutic vaccines. The current vaccines must be frozen, making worldwide distribution a complicated issue. Some researchers are attempting to create a powder version of the vaccine which can be shipped in dry form and then mixed with water before being injected. The oncology resource center presents some of the problems currently faced by researchers.

Future Developments

New vaccines may be developed which will treat existing HPV viruses, rather than just the strains an individual hasn’t yet contracted. Furthermore, researchers are working on developing a less expensive version of the vaccine that could be distributed worldwide at a more reasonable cost. This would be a big step in greatly reducing the number of cervical cancer deaths in developing countries. You can obtain more information by downloading a PDF document entitled HPV Vaccines: Promises and Challenges

The current experimental HPV vaccination is not meant to be a substitute for annual Pap smears. Although the vaccine may reduce a woman’s chance to contract cervical cancer, it is still highly recommended that women receive annual pelvic exams. Eventually, researchers hope to develop an inexpensive, fully portable HPV vaccination that will be 100% effective in treating every type of HPV strain. Who knows, a future without cervical cancer may be closer than we think…

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This page was last updated:

April 10,  2007

It is not the intention of Cervicalcancer.org to provide specific medical advice, but rather to provide users with information to better understand their health and their diagnosed disorders. Specific medical advice will not be provided, and Cervicalcancer.org urges you to consult with a qualified physician for diagnosis and for answers to your personal questions.
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