ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- An expensive vaccine aimed at preventing cervical cancer makes sense for young teens when it comes to cost-effectiveness, but not for women in their 20s, contends a new report.The vaccine against the HPV virus was licensed in 2006 for use in girls and women ages 9 to 26. Health officials recommend it for girls at age 11 or 12, and some doctors offer it to women in their 20s in "catch-up" vaccination campaigns.
The maker of the Gardasil vaccine, Merck & Co., also wants to market it to women ages 27 to 45, but so far the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has denied that request.
The government-funded study found the HPV vaccine is very cost-effective when given to girls at age 12, but raises questions about the value of pushing for vaccinating adults.
Two researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health did the study, one of the most sophisticated analyses of the issue so far. Results are in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.
Gardasil is given in three doses over six months and costs about $375. It targets the two types of HPV, or human papillomavirus, believed to be responsible for about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases, and two other types that cause most genital warts. The virus spreads through sex.
Health officials say it's best to give the shots to girls at age 11 or 12, before they begin having sex. Some parents think that age is too young for a vaccination campaign against a sexually transmitted disease.
But that is when the shots make the most economic sense, the researchers found. Continue Reading >>
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