FYI: HPV Vaccine

(Disclaimers: I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. I have been doing cancer research for 6 years and I most recently worked for a biotech company that is not working on an HPV vaccine.)

A lot of folks I know are looking into getting Gardasil, Merck's partial[1] HPV vaccine. If you’re not amongst them, you should be – by the time you hit 50 years old or 10 partners (whichever comes first) you have an 80% chance of having some form of genital HPV, and we’ve determined that HPV is the source of cervical cancer, which is the second most common cancer amongst women. Even if you’re not a woman, new information had come to light regarding non-gender-specific cancer caused by HPV (namely throat cancer from HPV spread by oral sex), so you’re also at risk. Here's what I've been able to figure out about it, split by gender and age:

• If you're under 27 years old and female, it's not only highly likely to actually take but your insurance company will more than likely pay for it. Getting cancer really sucks and almost all cervical cancer is caused by HPV - talk to your doctor about Gardasil already!


• If you're under 27 years old and male, you should know that preliminary studies show that Gardasil is effective for you as well (clinical trials are currently being carried out). I feel that it's worth it for you to look into having it done for two reasons: men can also get cancer from HPV (penile, anal, and/or throat) and men are the Typhoid Mary of cervical cancer (caused almost entirely by HPV) - you often don't have symptoms and there's currently no good way to test for it. Do it for yourself, for someone you love, and for someone you will love down the line, regardless of your sexuality.


• If you're between 27 and 55 years old and female, you might be better off waiting for GSK's Cervarix, another partial HPV vaccine, to come on the market. Gardasil is much less likely to take in someone over 26 according to Merck's preliminary studies, which is why they didn't do the larger clinical trials with women over that age. GSK has sent in all the FDA-approval studies and paperwork for Cervarix, which is effective in women up to age 55, and it looks like it'll be released between October 2007 and January 2008. At this point, if you go through the time required to get the vaccine and get a titer[2] to see if it took, Cervarix will likely have already been released. Between the greater chance that it'll be effective (meaning you won't have to go through and pay for a second round of the vaccine) and the good chance that it'll be covered for women who fall within the recommended age range, I'm going to wait. But talk with your doctor about Cervarix vs. Gardasil anyway - at least s/he'll know that you're looking to get it when it comes out if you decide to wait for Cervarix.


• If you're between 27 and 55 years old and male, I'm honestly not sure what to tell you. It looks like GSK hasn't bothered testing Cervarix in men at all and isn't planning on doing so (that could change if there's more demand amongst men in this age range for an approved HPV vaccine), so I can't even begin to predict how effective it would be. My apologies, but it looks like you have a much more difficult choice than any of the previously mentioned groups. A discussion with your doctor is definitely in order.

A vaccine that protects you from even a few forms of cancer is one of those things we've been dreaming about for years. Please don't let it pass you by.

[1] There is no vaccine for all forms of HPV, just like there's no flu shot for all forms of the flu. Both Gardasil and Cervarix are focused on cancer-causing strains of HPV, but Gardasil does cover some wart-causing strains as well (there is overlap between strains that cause warts and cancer). It looks like both vaccines help prevent strains beyond the ones they specifically grant immunity for, but we don't really know how much help they are.
[2] For the love of God, whatever age or gender you are, get a titer. I can not emphasize this enough: you do not know that you are actually protected until you get a positive titer result. This is doubly important for people who get a vaccine off-recommendation, but everyone should have it done. I found out when I got a Hepatitis B titer about a year ago that I did not have immunity, despite getting the series done entirely according to the book when I was in high school. Get a titer!

FYI: HPV Vaccine

(Disclaimers: I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. I have been doing cancer research for 6 years and I most recently worked for a biotech company that is not working on an HPV vaccine.)

A lot of folks I know are looking into getting Gardasil, Merck's partial[1] HPV vaccine. If you’re not amongst them, you should be – by the time you hit 50 years old or 10 partners (whichever comes first) you have an 80% chance of having some form of genital HPV, and we’ve determined that HPV is the source of cervical cancer, which is the second most common cancer amongst women. Even if you’re not a woman, new information had come to light regarding non-gender-specific cancer caused by HPV (namely throat cancer from HPV spread by oral sex), so you’re also at risk. Here's what I've been able to figure out about it, split by gender and age:

• If you're under 27 years old and female, it's not only highly likely to actually take but your insurance company will more than likely pay for it. Getting cancer really sucks and almost all cervical cancer is caused by HPV - talk to your doctor about Gardasil already!


• If you're under 27 years old and male, you should know that preliminary studies show that Gardasil is effective for you as well (clinical trials are currently being carried out). I feel that it's worth it for you to look into having it done for two reasons: men can also get cancer from HPV (penile, anal, and/or throat) and men are the Typhoid Mary of cervical cancer (caused almost entirely by HPV) - you often don't have symptoms and there's currently no good way to test for it. Do it for yourself, for someone you love, and for someone you will love down the line, regardless of your sexuality.


• If you're between 27 and 55 years old and female, you might be better off waiting for GSK's Cervarix, another partial HPV vaccine, to come on the market. Gardasil is much less likely to take in someone over 26 according to Merck's preliminary studies, which is why they didn't do the larger clinical trials with women over that age. GSK has sent in all the FDA-approval studies and paperwork for Cervarix, which is effective in women up to age 55, and it looks like it'll be released between October 2007 and January 2008. At this point, if you go through the time required to get the vaccine and get a titer[2] to see if it took, Cervarix will likely have already been released. Between the greater chance that it'll be effective (meaning you won't have to go through and pay for a second round of the vaccine) and the good chance that it'll be covered for women who fall within the recommended age range, I'm going to wait. But talk with your doctor about Cervarix vs. Gardasil anyway - at least s/he'll know that you're looking to get it when it comes out if you decide to wait for Cervarix.


• If you're between 27 and 55 years old and male, I'm honestly not sure what to tell you. It looks like GSK hasn't bothered testing Cervarix in men at all and isn't planning on doing so (that could change if there's more demand amongst men in this age range for an approved HPV vaccine), so I can't even begin to predict how effective it would be. My apologies, but it looks like you have a much more difficult choice than any of the previously mentioned groups. A discussion with your doctor is definitely in order.

A vaccine that protects you from even a few forms of cancer is one of those things we've been dreaming about for years. Please don't let it pass you by.

[1] There is no vaccine for all forms of HPV, just like there's no flu shot for all forms of the flu. Both Gardasil and Cervarix are focused on cancer-causing strains of HPV, but Gardasil does cover some wart-causing strains as well (there is overlap between strains that cause warts and cancer). It looks like both vaccines help prevent strains beyond the ones they specifically grant immunity for, but we don't really know how much help they are.
[2] For the love of God, whatever age or gender you are, get a titer. I can not emphasize this enough: you do not know that you are actually protected until you get a positive titer result. This is doubly important for people who get a vaccine off-recommendation, but everyone should have it done. I found out when I got a Hepatitis B titer about a year ago that I did not have immunity, despite getting the series done entirely according to the book when I was in high school. Get a titer!