Gardasil Administration Best to Focus on Young Women

During 2007, more than 11,000 women in the United States were diagnosed with cervical cancer. Another 3,600 women died from it. The recently introduced Gardasil vaccine is expected to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer but it is most effective when girls get vaccinated before becoming sexually active. Read more

Stress May Raise Cervical Cancer Risk: Should We Worry?

In a society where we are all “stressed out,” we can add another entry to our worry list.

Stress may increase the risk of developing cervical cancer. A study published this month in “Annals of Behavioral Medicine,” found that women who felt more stressed had a poorer immune response to HPV, the virus that causes the inflammation that can lead to cervical cancer. Before losing sleep for a night, let’s look at the study. There is something we can do!” Read more

Fewer Obese Women Screened For Certain Cancers

Obese white women are less likely to be screened for breast and cervical cancer than women who maintain a healthy weight according to a review of cancer screening studies conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Public Health. Read more

Merck Seeks GARDASIL Approval for Older Women

Merck & Co., Inc., has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted and designated as priority a review of GARDASIL, a vaccine against types 6, 11, 16, and 18 of the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is strongly associated with cervical cancer and similar diseases. GARDASIL is currently approved for use in females between the ages of 9 and 26. Merck’s current request for review is to obtain approval for the vaccine in women aged 27 through 45. Read more

1 in 4 Teen Girls Has STD

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has just issued the alarming findings of its first ever survey of teen health which included sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). In the study, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 838 randomly chosen girls, ranging in age from 14 to 19, completed the survey, which was conducted in 2003 and 2004. As part of the survey, the girls agreed to answer questions dealing with health and nutritional issues and they agreed to be tested for four of the most common STDs. Read more

Women Given GARDASIL Have Fewer Abnormal Pap Smears

A new study shows that the HPV vaccine, GARDASIL, reduced abnormal Pap test results by 43 percent compared to women not given the vaccine. GARDASIL is FDA approved against the human papilloma virus (HPV) strains (6, 11, 16, 18) believed to cause 70 percent of cervical cancers and more than 90 percent of genital warts. Read more

Insurance Status Related to Cancer Survival

A study released this week by the American Cancer Society outlined disturbing differences in survival rates among insured versus uninsured patients. The study, which appears in the March issue of The Lancet Oncology, is the first to use national data to investigate insurance status and stage of diagnosis for a large number of cancer sites. Read more

Stress Can Increase Risk of Cervical Cancer

Stress could be a factor in whether or not women infected with malignancy-linked types of human papillomavirus (HPV) develop cervical cancer according to recent research. Read more

HPV Vaccine for Boys?

According to new research, Human Papillomavirus (HPV) may be responsible for the development of oral cancer in men to a greater extent than previously thought. Statistics show that in the past four decades, incidence of oral cancer caused by HPV has risen to a point where it now equals the incidence of oral cancer caused by alcohol and tobacco, widely regarded as the primary factors contributing to the development of oral and esophageal cancer.

If this trend continues, HPV will surpass alcohol and tobacco as the primary cause of oral cancer in men. Study co-author, Dr. Maura Gillison of Johns Hopkins University, said “We need to start having a discussion about those cancers other than cervical cancer that may be affected in a positive way by the vaccine…”

Gardasil was approved for use in girls in 2007, as a vaccine against HPV, one of the causes of cervical cancer. It has been reported that Merck & Co is considering applying for an FDA approval to administer the vaccine to boys, as well.

Two Women Die Shortly After Receiving Gardasil

MedHeadlines - Two young women have died shortly after receiving Gardasil, a vaccine against human papillomavirus - one of the main causes of cervical cancer. The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has reported that the two deaths occurred in Austria and Germany. Both women died shortly after receiving the vaccine. Not long ago, three other women from the United States died after they have received the vaccine. Read more

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