New Vaccine Offers Hope For Cervical Cancer Patients

The discovery of a new vaccine that can tackle cervical cancer has raised the hope of many that had been suffering from the disease, especially in middle and low income countries of the world. According to a study published Wednesday in ‘The Lancet,’ the vaccine that can literally eradicate majority of cervical cancer cases showed long-term effectiveness.
The study of 14,215 women in 18 countries strengthened the initial phase three efficacy and safety trial of the nine-valent human papilloma virus vaccine, Gardasil 9 that was published in February 2015 in ‘The New England Journal of Medicine.’ Gardasil 9, marketed by Merck & Co., was approved by the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2014.
The vaccine immunises against nine genotypes of HPV known to cause cervical cancer as well as vulvar, vaginal and anal cancers and genital warts caused by HPV. It was an advance over the four-valent HPV vaccine, Gardasil, which was approved by the FDA in 2006. Similarly, the findings also showed that “Gardasil 9 showed 97.4 per cent efficacy to prevent infections and disease caused by the five additional HPV genotypes not included in the four-valent Gardasil vaccine.

The nine-valent HPV vaccine had now been licensed in more than 60 countries for prevention of HPV-related anogenital cancers and precancers and genital warts, a ‘sciencedaily’ report said.
Cervical cancer was a cancer arising from the cervix, occasioned by abnormal growth of cells that had the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection causes more than 90 per cent of cervical cancer cases.
Other risk factors include smoking, a weak immune system, birth control pills, starting sex at a young age, and having many sexual partners, but these were less important.
However, cervical cancer typically develops from precancerous changes over 10 to 20 years. Findings from this new study strengthened the promise that vaccination with Gardasil 9 can reduce 90 per cent of cervical cancers. Available statistics also showed that cancer killed 7.6 million persons in 2008 worldwide and there was indication that the figure could double to 13 million by 2030.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cancer accounts for 13 per cent of all deaths registered globally and 70 per cent of that figure occurs in middle and low income countries. In Nigeria, breast and cervical cancers were the most prevalent among women while prostate cancer was more in men.
Sadly, in Nigeria which records about 100,000 new cancer cases, including cervical cancer yearly, most cases were diagnosed very late when medical professionals cannot help patients due to the ‘late-stage’ of the condition. Highlighting the progress recorded in the newly discovered vaccine, primary author of the study, Warner Huh, M.D., professor and director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Division of Gynecologic Oncology and a senior scientist at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, applauded the development.
He said: “There is no question that the vaccine works. We’re on the verge of a dramatic change that will positively affect all individuals, particularly women in the United States (U.S.)”.

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