New analysis finds HPV vaccine works

ATLANTA, May 31 (UPI) -- Cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil is nearly 100 percent effective in preventing two types of the virus causing most cases, a new U.S. study says.

The vaccine is 99 percent effective in preventing transmission of strains 16 and 18 of human papillomavirus, which cause nearly 70 percent of cervical cancer cases, according to a meta-analysis of trials involving 20,583 women ages 15 to 26, appearing in the journal The Lancet Friday.

Gardasil is also very effective in controlling the strains of the virus that cause genital warts, the authors said.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide, accounting for about 240,000 deaths each year. In 2007, experts predict cervical cancer will strike an estimated 11,000 women in the United States and nearly half a million women worldwide.

State attempts to mandate vaccination of young girls have caused large-scale controversy. Many public health experts support the policy, while some parents object to being forced to vaccinate their children.

"We spend about 3 billion dollars each year to find and treat these pre-cancerous stages caused by some type of HPV," said study author Kevin Ault, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Emory University.