HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer
in women now available
Recommended for girls and women ages nine-26

December 22, 2006

Prairie du Sac, WI - A breakthrough vaccine is now available to protect women from becoming infected with the human papillomavirus (HPV) - a sexually transmitted virus that causes genital warts and cancers of the cervix, vagina and vulva. Approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) in June of 2006, the new HPV vaccine is recommended for girls and women ages nine-26.

The HPV vaccine, which is the first vaccine whose main purpose is to prevent cancer, will likely be added to the list of immunizations all girls should get, according to Dr. Todd Schad, a gynecologist at Prairie Clinic in Sauk City, Wis. and Sauk Prairie Memorial Hospital & Clinics (SPMHC). The purpose of the vaccine is to protect girls and women from becoming infected before they are sexually active, or before they become exposed to one of four strains of the virus.

More than 99 percent of all cervical cancers are caused from HPV, according to Schad, and more than half of all sexually active adults will be infected in their lifetime. In the United States alone, 12,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer annually. Of those, approximately 4,000 die.

"The vaccine will have a huge impact on the healthcare of women," said Schad, who fully endorses the HPV vaccine. "It can significantly decrease the chance of warts, abnormal pap smear and cancer of the cervix, vulva and vagina." The vaccine, he attests, protects against the four most common strains of the virus.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease. It causes no symptoms and is most often cleared by the body on its own. When it isn't cleared, persistent infection causes changes that can lead to cancer.

While there was concern by some groups early on that the HPV vaccine might indirectly encourage sexual activity by teenagers, that opposition has largely evaporated, according to Schad. The vaccine prevents cancers, he points out. "What some might not realize is that girls who receive the vaccine when they are 10 or 11, may not become sexually active until they get married years later. Nonetheless, they can still be exposed to the virus through their spouse, through no fault of their own.

So, who should receive the vaccine? While Schad maintains it is preferable to receive the vaccine before sexual activity, he recommends women get the vaccine even after becoming sexually active. "Even women who have already had an abnormal pap smear can still receive the vaccine because it may protect them from some of the other types of the virus that they haven't yet been exposed to."

The HPV vaccine is administered in three doses. After the initial dose, patients receive a booster two months and six months later. Already it is an approved vaccine by most insurance providers.

In addition to Prairie Clinic, Dr. Schad also sees patients at Lodi Medical Clinic and River Valley Medical Clinic in Spring Green. To find out more about the HPV vaccine, or to schedule an appointment to receive the vaccine, contact Prairie Clinic at 608-643-3351.