HPV vaccine may stimulate sensitive talk about STDs

A new vaccine against human papillomavirus infection targets preteen and young teen girls.

By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. June 12, 2006.

Washington -- A vaccine that prevents infection from four strains of human papillomavirus, including the two that cause the majority of cervical cancers, is expected to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration this month.

In advance of the availability of Gardasil vaccine, physicians should begin thinking about the sensitive discussions that will likely take place with its target population -- preteen and young teen girls -- and with their parents.

This population will benefit most from the vaccine's protection, say public health experts. Specifically, 10- to 14-year-olds who are not yet sexually active are the group for which it would be most effective, said John Schiller, PhD, one of the vaccine's inventors and chief of the National Cancer Institute's Neoplastic Disease Section. Gardasil is unlikely to help with current infection, he noted.

Dr. Schiller spoke at a May 23 telephone briefing sponsored by the National Network for Immunization Information.

Many doctors caution that the recommendation for a vaccine to prevent a sexually-transmitted disease may come at a time when parents think their children are much too young to need it. However, since 32% of ninth-graders report already having had sexual intercourse, public health advocates are arguing otherwise.

Infection with HPV is common. Every year, about 6.2 million people in the nation become infected, primarily young women and men in their late teens and early 20s. Fortunately, most clear the virus from their systems before it causes great harm.