Jun 8, 2006 3:54 pm US/Eastern
New Drug Could Help Prevent Cervical Cancer
by Dr. Mallika Marshall
(CBS4)
Cervical cancer kills hundreds of thousands of women around the world every year. But now for the first time, women have a vaccine to protect them against this potentially deadly disease.
The FDA has approved Gardasil -- the first vaccine specifically designed to prevent cancer.
"It's incredibly exciting it really represents the first step in potentially eradicating a very devastating disease," said Dr. Ursula Matulonis of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
Gardasil stops the sexually transmitted human papaloma virus or HPV -- carried by millions of Americans. Usually it's harmless, but in some cases the virus can lead to cervical cancer.
Now that the vaccine is approved, the government must next choose how to use it.
The Centers for Disease Control will decide if it should be a mandatory treatment or just a recommended one.
Dana Farber's Dr. Matulonis says the key is getting it to girls before they're exposed to HPV. "These would be young girls, um, probably around the age of 9 or 10 who have not become sexually active."
If used correctly, experts believe this new vaccine could save some 3,500 lives a year in the U.S. alone, and prevent 70 percent of cervical cancer cases worldwide, which means millions of women could avoid the treatments that Shannon Arvizu has had to go through. The 28-year-old was diagnosed with cervical cancer last year. "If this vaccine had been available, just a few years ago this whole process could have been avoided."
Merck says it plans to market Gardasil as a cancer vaccine rather than an STD vaccine.
And of course, it's important to remember that when you get the shot, it does not mean you no longer need to get regular pap smears.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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