The Facts on Gardasil: A Vaccine for Human Papilloma Virus
The subject of vaccines can raise emotional responses in some circles, and the Merck vaccine for cervical cancer, Gardasil, is no exception. The fact that the vaccine targets a sexually transmitted virus, the human papilloma virus (HPV), and the vaccine is given to girls as young as nine adds to the controversy.
Questions about the necessity, expense and safety of the HPV vaccine have fueled media attention on this fairly new vaccine. Given in three injections over a period of six months, the full vaccine costs about $360, much more than most other vaccines. Some physicians question the cost benefit of Gardasil considering that not all young women who become infected with HPV will go on to develop cervical cancer.
The vaccine targets four subtypes of HPV that have been shown to cause mutations in cells of the cervix as well as benign genital warts. While HPV infection is clearly linked to the development of cervical cancer, it’s not completely understood how the viral infection promotes cancer formation in some women and not in others.
