Updated vaccine against cervical cancer provides longer sustainable response

Nov 2 2005

Drug company GlaxoSmithKline says that it's updated vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV), has produced a stronger immune response, than the original formula of the vaccine.

The new vaccine apparently provides a stronger, more sustainable response to the virus, and it seems the benefits with the new vaccination in women were sustained over 3.5 years.

Apparently the results were based on three separate methods used to evaluate the ability of the vaccine.

Cervical cancer is a major global health problem, with nearly 500,000 new cases occurring each year worldwide.

It is the second most common cancer, and the third leading cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide.

In the U.S. alone approximately 10,000 women will develop cervical cancer this year, and nearly 4,000 will die from the disease.

HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer., and although there are many types of HPV, however, most cervical cancer cases are associated with only two types, HPV 16 and HPV 18.

It is estimated that as many as 20 million people in the U.S. are currently infected with genital HPV, which is very common among sexually active people.

There are around 5.5 million new infections occurring every year in the U.S. and experts believe that by the age of 50, approximately 80 percent of women will have been infected with HPV.

The infection is especially common in women under the age of 25 and is usually transient and with no symptoms.

However persistent infection with the two cancerous types of HPV may lead to cervical cancer.

Although screening for abnormal cervical cells using the Pap smear has significantly reduced the number of cervical cancer cases in the U.S. there are however as many as three million abnormal Pap smears each year, which require additional follow-up and treatment.

The total healthcare cost to evaluate and treat women with abnormal Pap smears in the U.S. has been estimated at $6 billion annually, along with the immeasurable personal and social costs, and emotional distress and anxiety.

The data was presented at the AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research.