New American Cancer Society guidelines have recommended that in order to prevent cervical cancer, females should be vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV) when they’re 11 to 12 years old.
The society observed that an estimated 11,150 cervical cancer cases will be diagnosed in the United States, and about 3,670 women will die from the disease in 2007. Almost all cervical cancers are causally related to HPV.
The guidelines are published in the January/February issue of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, and emphasize that the full potential of the HPV vaccine will be reached only if widespread vaccination is achieved in groups of women who don’t get regular cervical screenings.
In a released statement, Dr. Harmon J. Eyre, lead author of the guidelines and chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, said:
The vaccine holds remarkable potential, but unless the same populations of women who right now do not have access to or do not seek regular Pap tests gets this vaccine, it will have limited impact.
Also, as HPV vaccination for the prevention of cervical cancer is introduced and promoted, it remains critical that women undergo regular screening even if they have been vaccinated.
The guidelines recommend routine HPV vaccination for females ages 11 to 12 years. Females as young as 9 years may also receive HPV vaccination as well as females ages 13 to 18 years, to make up for a missed vaccine or to complete the vaccination series.
Since there is not enough data to recommend for or against HPV vaccination for women ages 19 to 26, HPV vaccine is not currently recommended for women over age 26 or for males.
The guidelines also say that screening for cervical cancer and pre-cancers should continue in both vaccinated and unvaccinated women.
Besides the New American Cancer Society, other major health groups have also called for widespread vaccination among females in this age group.
Via: Forbes
