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Cancer Society report calls for 400,000
girls to be vaccinated against STD HPV By
Kyle Cheney January 19, 2007….Females as young as nine should get vaccinated against the cancer-causing STD, human papillomavirus, or HPV, according to an American Cancer Society report released today. HPV, the most commonly transmitted STD in the country, causes more than 9,700 cases of cervical cancer a year, leading to more than 3,700 deaths, according to the Food and Drug Administration, which approved an HPV vaccine called Gardasil last June. Although only a fraction of HPV cases lead to cancer - many forms of the virus are considered low-risk - the disease is a leading cause of cervical cancer in America, according to experts. The Cancer Society report urges women between the ages of nine and 18 to receive three shots, over a six-month period, that researchers expect will virtually eliminate the incidence of cervical cancer caused by HPV. The FDA found women as old as 26 could be treated effectively; the ACS report cites insufficient data for females over 18. U.S. Census data from 2000 indicates there are more than 400,000 girls between 10 and 19 in Massachusetts. Vaccinating them all against HPV would cost nearly $150 million at current prices, although it is unclear how many would be covered by their insurance or how many are part of low-income households eligible for state assistance. Treatment for males has yet to be approved. While it is too soon to tell how effective the vaccine will be - cervical cancer takes years to develop - early warning signs of a developing cancer were eliminated in women who received the vaccine, according to both the FDA and ACS report. The report shows that HPV disproportionately affects minority communities, and acknowledges that the expensive multi-step vaccination would make it difficult for low-income patients to follow through with the whole regimen. Seeking to address the disparity, Sen. Richard Moore (D-Uxbridge) has proposed legislation that would compel girls in the sixth grade and older to be vaccinated for HPV before they can enroll in school. Under the plan, an established universal immunization program would cover low-income residents. Moore, who also hopes to require meningitis and rotovirus vaccines in children, said the Senate needs to ramp up funding for the immunization program. "To combine the three [vaccines] will require that we consider doubling the immunization account" to $50 million, he said. The HPV vaccine itself would cost $120 per dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and about $360 for a full three-shot schedule. It's the most expensive pediatric vaccine listed by the agency. But Moore said some private health insurance companies are already covering the cost. "If [the insurance companies] don't want to pay for cervical cancer treatment," he said, "in the long-run it's far more cost effective to make sure people don't get the virus now or in the next several years." Moore said he expects boys to be vaccinated when the FDA approves a vaccine for males. He acknowledged that the value of the vaccine would be unclear perhaps for decades, but he said he would rather write a strong law now and scale it back than sponsor a weak law that needs to be strengthened in the future |