EDITORIAL: Cervical Cancer Vaccine: A Major Advance in Women's Health
Posted on: Monday, 19 June 2006, 03:00 CDT
By The Philadelphia Inquirer
Jun. 19--The Food and Drug Administration has delivered an important victory for girls and women in the fight against cervical cancer.
In a decision late last week, the FDA approved the sale of the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, which claims the lives of 3,900 women in the United States annually. The new drug, Gardasil, is manufactured by Merck & Co. and is expected to cost more than $300 for a three-shot course.
Gardasil kills two strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) that account for 70 percent of all cases of cervical cancer. Although the vaccine is 100 percent effective in protecting against those two sources of infection, it does not ward off other causes of cervical cancer. Gardasil also blocks infection of the strains that cause most genital warts.
To be effective, the vaccine must be administered before a girl or young woman begins having sexual intercourse. The FDA has approved it for use in girls and women age 9 to 26.
The FDA's action was welcome, and the national Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices now will decide on June 29 whether to endorse routine vaccination.
At that point, the debate will turn to the states, which decide which vaccines to require for school-age children. Some people object to making this vaccination mandatory, concerned that it would undermine parents' authority, encourage sexual activity and downplay abstinence as a choice.
Conversely, many women's health groups argue that the vaccine should be routine for girls, because exposure to the virus is common whenever sexual activity begins.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 80 percent of women will have an HPV infection by age 50.
As states address this issue in the coming months, they should remember they have a wide range of policy choices between mandatory vaccination and silence.
Although abstinence is the safest choice before marriage, public health policy should not ignore the fact that nearly every person engages in sexual activity at some point in life.
States can take many steps to make sure parents are fully informed about HPV and the vaccine (information about both is available at www.cdc.gov). They can also take action to ensure that cost is not an obstacle to parents who want their children vaccinated.
Opting for the vaccination is a prudent way to protect girls and young women from a prevalent disease.
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Copyright (c) 2006, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
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