Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Cervical Cancer and HPV
The human papilloma virus (HPV) has recently been shown to be the most important risk factor for cervical cancer (a risk factor is something that increases one's risk of getting a particular disorder). There are other risk factors such as smoking, immunosuppression (reduced immune function), multiple full-term pregnancies, oral contraceptive use, and others; however, these are beyond the scope of the present article, whose purpose is to focus on the single most important risk factor, the HPV virus.
The HPV Vaccine
Given the above, it's easy to see why the medical community is so excited by the recent availability of a vaccine for the HPV virus; since this virus is the #1 cause of cervical cancer, its administration can significantly reduce its occurrence. In effect, cervical cancer may now be considered to be a largely preventable disease. The amount of human suffering and death that can now be prevented from happening is staggering to this author.
The HPV vaccine is relatively simple to administer and is not associated with any known adverse medical consequences. After the initial dose, it is re-administered two and then six months later (it is given in the arm, like most other vaccines). It is available for girls/women between the ages of 9 and 26 (the reasoning here is that after age 26 the cervical cells may be less likely to be protected by the HPV vaccine; this upper-age cutoff may change however, as more clinical data are accumulated over time).
Optimally, the HPV vaccine should be given before a woman becomes sexually active, since the best way to prevent cervical cancer is to prevent infection by the HPV virus in the first place. However, having had unprotected sex (remember, virtually everyone that has EVER had unprotected sex is almost certain to have had the virus at some point) is not a reason to forego the vaccine; the vaccine will interfere with viral activity even if the virus is still present (really cool!).
The HPV vaccine has also recently been approved for boys as well (the reasoning here is to reduce the available "pool" of virus in the population as well as to prevent genital warts, which are quite painful).
The human papilloma virus (HPV) has recently been shown to be the most important risk factor for cervical cancer (a risk factor is something that increases one's risk of getting a particular disorder). There are other risk factors such as smoking, immunosuppression (reduced immune function), multiple full-term pregnancies, oral contraceptive use, and others; however, these are beyond the scope of the present article, whose purpose is to focus on the single most important risk factor, the HPV virus.
The HPV Vaccine
Given the above, it's easy to see why the medical community is so excited by the recent availability of a vaccine for the HPV virus; since this virus is the #1 cause of cervical cancer, its administration can significantly reduce its occurrence. In effect, cervical cancer may now be considered to be a largely preventable disease. The amount of human suffering and death that can now be prevented from happening is staggering to this author.
The HPV vaccine is relatively simple to administer and is not associated with any known adverse medical consequences. After the initial dose, it is re-administered two and then six months later (it is given in the arm, like most other vaccines). It is available for girls/women between the ages of 9 and 26 (the reasoning here is that after age 26 the cervical cells may be less likely to be protected by the HPV vaccine; this upper-age cutoff may change however, as more clinical data are accumulated over time).
Optimally, the HPV vaccine should be given before a woman becomes sexually active, since the best way to prevent cervical cancer is to prevent infection by the HPV virus in the first place. However, having had unprotected sex (remember, virtually everyone that has EVER had unprotected sex is almost certain to have had the virus at some point) is not a reason to forego the vaccine; the vaccine will interfere with viral activity even if the virus is still present (really cool!).
The HPV vaccine has also recently been approved for boys as well (the reasoning here is to reduce the available "pool" of virus in the population as well as to prevent genital warts, which are quite painful).
posted by emedinfo
@8:45 PM
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