In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine for girls and women ages 9 to 26. As part of Cervical Cancer Awareness Month in January, experts at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center review what we have learned about this controversial vaccine in the past four years.
"Even though the vaccine has been around for some time now, reports show that some teenage girls are still not getting it," said Helen E. Rhodes, M.D., associate professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Gynecologic Oncology. "This is unfortunate because the vaccine covers several forms of the virus that cause more than half of cervical cancers."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that about a quarter of teenage girls got the first vaccine shot in 2007. This number increased a little in 2008.
Rhodes suggests that possible factors that may be preventing parents from vaccinating their daughters include:
* Fears that the vaccine may promote sexual activity
* Concerns about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine
* Little knowledge about HPV and the vaccine
* No insurance coverage or not being able to get help to pay for the vaccine
* Their doctor did not recommend having the vaccine
Vaccine still works after four years
"Presently, one of the major controversies is how long the vaccine will stay effective," Rhodes said. "While the exact length of time is questionable, we do know is that the vaccine is sill effective in girls and women who got the first available vaccination series in 2006."
Doctors don't yet know whether this group will eventually need a booster shot. However, they are still following the girls and women who were a part of the first studies to learn more about the long-term effectiveness of this vaccine.
Boys and men can get the vaccine too
In October 2009, the FDA approved the HPV vaccine for use in boys and men ages 9 to 26. They found that the vaccine safely protects males from genital warts caused by HPV types 6 and 11. Each year, doctors detect genital warts in about two out of every 1,000 men in the United States, says the CDC.