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Researchers have produced an experimental vaccine that is 100
percent effective in preventing two types of cervical cancer caused by
a sexually-transmitted virus, the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical
company Merck and Co., Inc., announced on Thursday.
Over 12,000 women aged 16 to 26 in 13 different countries
participated in the study of the Gardasil vaccine. The vaccine targets
human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18, which cause 70 percent of
cervical cancers, and types 6 and 11, which cause 90 percent of genital
warts.
The women, none of whom were previously infected with HPV, were
separated into two groups in which they received either a three-dose
vaccine regimen or a placebo and were followed for an average of two
years following enrollment. Among the women who received the vaccine,
none developed pre-cancerous lesions or cancer cells, while 21 women
among the placebo group did.
"This is very powerful evidence that a vaccine can actually prevent
cervical cancer," said Carol Brown, a gynecologic oncologist at the
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
The American Cancer Society estimates that approximately 10,500
women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and another 3,700 will die
from the disease this year.