Wednesday, August 15, 2007

HPV vaccine does not treat HPV

HPV (Human papillomavirus) is a very common virus, some types cause cervical cancer, some cause gential warts. There has been confusion about whether women who have been infected with HPV could benefit from vaccination.

A study of more than 2000 women who already have HPV infection in Costa Rica found that Cervarix, a cervical-cancer vaccines, did not clear the virus from the bodies of the HPV-infected women. The author suggested that the vaccine "should not be used for the purposes of treating prevalent infections" and shoud target young women prior to their sexual debut because the infection happens shortly after sexual initiation.

Read the free article "Effect of Human Papillomavirus 16/18 L1 Viruslike Particle Vaccine Among Young Women With Pre-existing Infection: A Randomized Trial" JAMA. 2007 (7) ;298:743-753. August 15.

No comments: