New HPV vaccine could dramatically reduce cervical cancer

University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Division of Gynecologic Oncology director Warner Huh, M.D. says a new human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has the potential to reduce cervical cancer rates, while reducing the number of exams a woman would have in her lifetime. Huh was one of the authors in a multinational study on a diverse group of women published February in The New England Journal of Medicine. He says proper vaccinations could make a huge difference in HPV prevention. “Now, we have a second-generation vaccine that protects against 90 percent of the HPV viruses that cause cervical cancer. This vaccine can literally eradicate the majority of cervical cancer, if given widely and appropriately.” The trial included more than 14,000 women ages 16-26 from more than a dozen countries — including the United States. UAB says this vaccine is an advance from the 2006 FDA approved vaccine marketed by Merck & Co. as Gardasil...