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Cervical cancer vaccine: What we need to know

Abu Siddiqui
Cervical cancer is a malignant cancer of the cervix uteri or cervical area, It may present with vaginal bleed ing but symptoms may be absent until the cancer is in its advanced stages.
Why the cervical cancer vaccine is important?
Cervical cancer is caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV) which is spreads through sexual contact. Most sexually active women get HPV at some time in their lives. It is most common in women in their late teens and early 20s. Most HPV types cause no symptoms and go away on their own. There are about 40 types of HPV that can infect the genital areas of women. Some types can cause cervi cal cancer, while the other types of HPVcan cause warts in the genital areas of women, called genital warts. Genital warts are not a lifethreatening disease. But they can cause emotional stress and their treatment can be very uncomfortable.
Who should get the vaccine?
T he HPV vaccine is recom mended for 11 and 12 year-old girls. It is also recommended for girls and women age 13 through 26 years of
age who have not yet been vaccinated or completed the vaccine series.
Will sexually active women benefit from the vaccine?
Ideally women should get vaccinated before they become sexually active. Women who are sexually active may get less benefit from it. This is because they may have already gotten an
HPV type targeted by the vaccine. Few sexually active women are infected with all HPV types covered by the vaccine so tliey would still get protection from those types they have not yet gotten.
Should girls he screened for cervical cancer before getting vaccinated?
No. Girls do not need to get an HPV test or Pap test to
find out if they should get the vaccine.
How much effective the HPV vaccine is?
HPV vaccine targets the types of HPV that most commonly cause cervical cancer and genital warts. The vaccine is highly effective in preventing those types of HPV in young women. The vaccine is less effective in preventing HPV-related
disease in young women who have already been exposed to one or more HPV types. That is because the vaccine does not treat existing HPV infections or the diseases they may cause. It can only prevent HPV before a person gets it.
How long does vaccine protection last? Will a booster shot be needed? It has been suggested that
vaccine protection will last a long time. More research is being done to find out if women will need a booster vaccine many years after getting vaccinated to boost protection.
Will girls/women be protected against HPV even if they don’t get all three doses?
It is not yet known how much protection girls/ women would get from receiving only one or two doses of the vaccine. For this reason, it is very important that girls/women get all three doses of the vaccine.
What vaccinated women need to know?
Vaccination is not a substitute for regular cervical screening or for precautions against exposure to HPV and sexually transmitted diseases. Women will still need regular cervical cancer screening (Pap tests) because the vaccine will not protect against all HPV types that cause cervical cancer. Women who got the vaccine after becoming sexually active may not get the full benefit of the vaccine if they had already acquired HPV.
The writer is an immunotoget working in a miAnatonai beaVrarr anewry m Jw* U S A corn