foodconsumer.org: HPV vaccine approved for boys and men

HPV vaccine approved for boys and men
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admin on 10/19/2009 03:52:00
 
Sunday Oct 18, 2009 (foodconsumer.org) -- The Food and Drug Administration
approved the vaccine called Gardasil, which was initially developed to help
prevent women from developing cervical cancer, induced by sexually transmitted
virus called human papillomavirus, for use in boys and men, media reported.
Gardasil has already been approved to be used in females to  prevent the scary
yet rare cancer of the cervix.  The cancer kills a few thousands of women each
year in the United States compared to more than 40,000 deaths from highway
traffic incidents.
The FDA found Gardasil to be safe and effective in protecting men and boys from
genital warts, which are in 90 percent of cases caused by types 6 and 11 HPV
strains.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has yet to decide whether to
recommend its use in boys and if it does, many states will follow to mandate
inoculation.  A CDC panel will convene next week to discuss the issue.
This is an issue because boys and men may not directly benefit from the
inoculation.  No more than 1 percent of sexually active males in the U.S.
actually develop genital warts, which are just irritating, but not at all
life-threatening.
The potential argument could be that use of the vaccine in males could help
women because transmission of HPV from men that cause the warts can lead to
cervical cancer in women and girls.
But it is a question how many parents would take their sons to a clinic to get
the HPV vaccine just because it would prevent something that may occur in his
girlfriend(s).  The risk for a woman to get cervical cancer from a medical
viewpoint is RARE.
By David Liu