Girls should get cancer vaccine, panel says

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Girls as young as 11 and young women
up to age 26 should get Merck and Co.’s Gardisil vaccine aimed
at preventing a sexually transmitted virus that can cause
cancer, a panel of U.S. experts said on Thursday.

In a complicated vote, the Advisory Committee on
Immunization Practices agreed to recommend the vaccine for
three age groups — all young girls age 11 and 12; girls and
women age 13 to 26 who have not yet received the vaccine; and
women who have had abnormal pap smears, genital warts or
certain other conditions.

And at their discretion physicians could vaccinate as young
as 9, the panel decided.

The ACIP advises the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, which in turn advises schools districts and other
authorities.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration licensed Gardasil for
use in women and girls 9 to 26 years of age earlier this month.
It protects against four types of human papilloma virus, also
know as HPV or human wart virus.

The idea is to vaccinate girls before they ever get
infected with the virus.

The approval could make for blockbuster sales for Merck,
with some analysts predicting annual sales of more than $3
billion within the next few years.

“I think this is going to be a great cancer prevention tool
but it is not going to be effective for about 10 years,” said
Dr. Carol Baker of the national Foundation for Infectious
Disease, who was at the meeting.