STD shot may prevent more strains of virus

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TRENTON, N.J. - New data shows a vaccine against the virus that causes cervical cancer partially blocks infection by 10 strains of the virus on top of the four types the vaccine targets.

That boosts protection — at least partially — to 90 percent of strains causing the deadly cancer, according to data presented Wednesday at a medical conference by Merck & Co., maker of Gardasil.

Whitehouse Station-based Merck called it the first evidence of any vaccine providing cross-protection against other strains of the human papilloma virus, or HPV.

Dr. Stephanie Blank, a gynecologic oncologist at the NYU Cancer Institute, said the finding could encourage more widespread use of Gardasil in developing countries, where some of the additional strains are more widespread and women rarely get Pap smears to detect early, curable cancers.

“That could be huge,” Blank said.

Gardasil is the only cervical cancer vaccine on the market, approved for sale in 85 countries and pending approval in 40 more; it has racked up about $1 billion in sales since its June 2006 U.S. launch. GlaxoSmithKline PLC is awaiting approval of its own vaccine, Cervarix.

Potential reduction
There are more than 60 strains of the HPV virus. About 15 are thought to cause cervical cancer; Gardasil protects against 12 of those, plus another two that cause genital warts but not cancer.

Two strains cause 70 percent of cervical cancer. Merck studies following 17,600 young women for three years found the vaccine to be 99 percent effective in blocking those strains.

New analysis of that data shows the vaccine reduced incidence of HPV-caused precancerous lesions by nearly two-thirds for the three next most common HPV strains in North America. While those three strains are less common elsewhere, together they cause about 11 percent of cervical cancer worldwide.

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Mechka

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