Vaccine makes gains against an STD
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ATLANTA - For the first time, an expensive vaccine aimed at preventing cervical cancer in women has proven successful at preventing a disease in men, according to a study released yesterday by the vaccine's maker.
The disease is genital warts - sexually transmitted, embarrassing, and uncomfortable - but not life-threatening.
Still, the results could bolster an expected bid by the vaccine's manufacturer,
"This opens the door to a wonderful opportunity to prevent illness," said Anna Giuliano, a researcher at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, who worked on the Merck study. The research results were presented yesterday at a medical conference in Europe.
The focus was Merck's vaccine, Gardasil, which is given in three doses over six months and is priced at about $375.
The vaccine targets the two types of HPV, or human papillomavirus, believed to be responsible for about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases, and two other types that cause most genital warts. HPV is spread through sex.
In 2006, the US government licensed the vaccine for use in girls and women ages 9 to 26. Males can spread the virus, but the vaccine was not licensed for them because there was no evidence it prevented disease in men.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
