FDA expands use of cervical cancer vaccINE

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FDA expands use of cervical cancer vaccINE
Time Magazine Online Monday, September 15,
2008

• By Teddi Hernandez
• Microbiology in the News

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Definitions
? Human papillomavirus (HPV) a virus that
infects the skin and mucous membranes of humans
there are over 40 HPV types that can infect the
genital regions of men and women through sexual
or skin to skin contact. ?Cervical Cancer a
slow growing cancer that forms in tissues of the
cervix (an organ connecting the vagina and
uterus) may show no symptoms. Estimated number
of new cases 11,070 and nearly 3,900 deaths each
year. ?Vulvar Cancer - cancer of the vulva
(external female genital organs. Estimated number
of new cases 3,460 each year. ?Vaginal Cancer
cancer that forms in the tissues of the vagina.
Estimated number of new cases 2,210 each
year. ?Gardasil a vaccine used to protect
against strains of HPV that cause 70 percent of
cervical cancers.

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Definitions Continued
?Oncogenic - tending to cause or generate
tumors. ?Icosahedral capsid the protein shell
of a virus that has an icosahedral shape, meaning
it has 20 equilateral triangular faces that
approximates a sphere.
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Background Information on HPV
?Papilloma viruses are small icosahedral viruses
that contain a double stranded DNA genome. The
outer layer of the virus is composed of viral
proteins arranged as an icosahedral capsid ,
which encloses the viral genes. ?The HPV-16 and
HPV- 18 strains are oncogenic infections and
cause 70 of cervical cancer cases. ?In most
cases the virus goes away on it own, however, in
women that do not clear the virus, abnormal cells
develop in the lining of the cervix , and
cervical cancer can develop. ?The HPV-6 and
HPV-11 strains are non-oncogenic infections that
cause 90 of genital warts cases. In most cases,
the virus will go away on its own, however, about
25 of the cases return within 3 months.
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Background Information on GARDASIL
? Gardasil is the only cervical cancer vaccine
that protects against 4 strains of HPV ?Cervical
cancer can be caused by 10 to 30 strains of HPV
however HPV- 16 and HPV-18 cause 70 of cervical
cancer cases. Gardasil helps guard against both
types of HPV. ? Gardasil also helps to prevent
genital warts the vaccine guards against HPV - 6
and HPV - 11, which causes 90 of all genital
warts cases. ? Gardasil is for girls and women
from the ages of 9 to 29. Best results are found
when given to young girls before they are
sexually active, however if sexually active,
Gardasil will still help to prevent against HPV
types that one has not yet been exposed to. ?The
vaccine is given in three doses over a period of
six months.
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Article Summary
? There is recent evidence suggesting that the
Gardasil vaccine also helps to prevent vulvar and
vaginal cancers the cause of some of these
cancers is the same virus that causes the
cervical cancer that Gardasil protects
against. ? Evidence TRIAL 15,000 women took
part in a clinical study spanning over two years.
The women were divided into two groups one group
was vaccinated with Gardasil and the other was
not. RESULTS In the group that did not receive
the vaccine, 10 women developed precancerous
vulvar lesions and 9 women developed similar
vaginal lesions all due to HPV infection.
However, no women in the group treated with
Gardasil developed any type of lesions.
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References
?FDA Expands Use of Cervical Cancer Vaccine.
Time Magazine Online. September 15, 2008.
141331,00.html ?Gardasil Facts and
Information. pillomavirus/genital-warts/index.html ?Genital
HPV Infection- CDC Fact Sheet.Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. April 10, 2008.
?The
National Cancer Institute. v/