HPV vaccine vs.cervical cancer

MANILA, Philippines - Starting last September, girls in the UK have been receiving the quadrivalent vaccine against the human papillomavirus or HPV, which causes cervical cancer and genital warts.

There are two HPV vaccines on the market today. Both the bivalent and quadrivalent HPV vaccine protect against HPV types 16 and 18 which cause approximately 70 percent of cervical cancers. In addition to cervical cancer, the quadrivalent vaccine also protects against HPV 6 and 11, which are responsible for 90% of cases of genital warts. The quadrivalent vaccine can be administered to both men and women.

UK’s HPV vaccination program began in 2008 using the bivalent vaccine. The program covers girls aged 12 to 13 years old, with a catch-up program for teenagers up to 18 years old. Almost 1.5 million young women have been vaccinated since then.

In the latest vaccine tendering exercise, however, the UK government made it clear that it was looking for a vaccine that helps protect girls from HPV types that cause cervical cancer and those that cause genital warts.

In Australia where the quadrivalent vaccine is used in the national HPV vaccination program, researchers have found that genital warts cases in both men and women have nearly disappeared since the adoption of the quadrivalent vaccine.

The quadrivalent vaccine by pharmaceutical company MSD has been chosen by health authorities for regional or national anti-cervical cancer vaccination drives in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Spain, Sweden, and Italy.  The vaccine has been approved in 127 countries including the Philippines.