Gardasil shows efficacy in older women too : Merck

Originally designed to be administered to females between the age group 9 to 26, Gardasil, the world's first cervical cancer vaccine in its new study demonstrated effectiveness against the disease in women aged up to 45, Gardasil’s manufacturers - Merck & Co Inc. said on Sunday.

Targeting four strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) namely, type 6, type 11, type 16 and type 18, the manufacturer’s hope that use of Gardasil can prevent cervical cancer caused by any of the targeted HPV strains in older women who haven't yet been infected by any of them.

However, Gardasil isn't intended to stop disease caused by pre-existing infections. If a woman is already infected by any of the targeted strains, Gardasil will provide protection from the remaining strains, instead.

Overjoyed over the remarkable achievement, Dr. Eliav Barr, head of the Merck HPV Vaccine program noted, "This is the first efficacy study in this age population. The vaccine performed as we expected. It was highly effective."

To check the effectiveness of the drug, 3,800 women were roughly divided into two groups. One group was administered three doses of Gardasil over six months while the other received three placebo vaccine shots, over the same period.

After a 20 month follow-up, the vaccine showed a 91 percent reduction in cases of persistent infection, low-grade cervical abnormalities and pre-cancers, and external genital lesions caused by the four targeted HPV strains, among those receiving Gardasil, versus placebo.

Costing about $360 for the three dose programme, the drug will now await the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market the vaccine to women through age 45.

The findings of the study were presented at the 24th International Papillomavirus Conference in Beijing, China.

Human Papilloma Virus

The human papilloma virus is the most common sexually transmitted virus. Carriers of this fatal virus generally pass it on to their female partners unknowingly through unprotected sexual activity. In females, HPV infection is a known cause of cervical and uterine cancer.

While HPV of type 6 and type 11 account for 70 percent of cervical cancer cases, types 16 and 18 are responsible for causing about 90 percent of genital growths.