Could this new vaccine mean the end of cervical cancer?

[The title was written by my editor.]

A new vaccine currently under testing by the FDA prevents infection by all nine subtypes of human papillomavirus known to cause cervical cancer may one day prevent 90 percent of cervical cancer cases.

by John Tyburski

Copyright © Daily Digest News, KPR Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

First published at Daily Digest News on October 1, 2014

Gardasil, the current vaccine against human papillomavirus, prevents infections by four cancer-causing strains of HPV and approximately 70 percent of all potential cervical cancer cases. According to a new report published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a new and improved vaccine currently being tested blocks against infections by all nine HPV strains known to cause cervical cancer. The new vaccine, if approved by regulatory officials, is anticipated to prevent up to 90 percent of all potential cervical cancers.

The new 9-valent HPV vaccine was developed by Merck, who also makes Gardasil, and is being tested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. A decision by the FDA about whether to allow the vaccine to be marketed in the U.S. is expected as early as the end of the year, according to sources.

“The vaccine will hopefully be available soon after,” wrote Elmar Joura, associate professor of gynecology at the Medical University of Vienna in Austria, in an email to TIME Magazine. Joura was a co-author on the new report that describes the vaccine, which has not yet been named.

Nearly all cervical cancers are assumed to be caused by HPV. Most cervical cancers are caused by HPV types 16 and 18. Types 6 and 11 cause cancers as well as genital warts. The new vaccine prevents infections by these four types as well as infections by five others: 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58.

Across the globe, HPV-related cervical cancer risks vary by ethnicity. Types 52 and 58 are more common in East Asia, for example.

“The good thing is that the nine valent vaccine will equalize these differences,” Joura wrote. “The grade of protection will be the same worldwide.”

Joura and colleagues analyzed data from 12,514 women and found that among women ages 15 to 26 who had precancers, 32 percent tested positive for more than one type of HPV. For women ages 24 to 45, 19 percent had more than one type.