By Dr. Samir N. Khleif Director, Georgia Health Sciences
University Cancer Center Augusta, Ga – A vaccine that prevents
cancer seemed more like science fiction than science a mere
generation ago, but today, it’s a reality for cervical cancer.
The vaccines Gardasil and Cervarix protect men and women from
HPV, or human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease
that causes specific cancers, including cervical cancer, the
12th most commonly diagnosed cancer in Georgia and South
Carolina. An estimated 80 percent of American adults currently
harbor the virus, which can also cause precancers and genital
warts. Cervarix is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration to protect against cervical cancer caused by HPV
types 16 and 18. Gardasil has been approved to prevent: -
cervical cancer and some vulvar and vaginal cancers caused by
HPV types 16 and 18 - anal cancer caused by these same strains
in men and women - genital warts from HPV types 6 and 11 in men
and women These vaccines may also protect against