A federal advisory panel Thursday unanimously recommended that the Food and Drug Administration approve a vaccine that has been shown to prevent cervical cancer, the second most prevalent cancer among women worldwide.
The FDA almost always follows the recommendations of its advisory panels and is expected to do so in this case, probably by June 8.
"It is common sense, good medicine and a groundbreaking step forward in the fight against cancer," said Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Conservative Christian groups, which initially raised moral concerns about the vaccine, said they now welcomed it because of its health benefits, but stressed that parents shouldn't be required to have their daughters vaccinated.
Tests in more than 17,000 girls and women have shown that the vaccine, called Gardasil, is nearly 100% effective in blocking cervical cancers caused by the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus.
Gardasil blocks four strains of human papillomavirus. Two strains are thought to be responsible for 70% of the 15,000 cases of cervical cancer diagnosed and the 4,000 deaths caused by it in the United States each year. Worldwide, 400,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, and 200,000 die of it. The other two strains it blocks are behind about 50% of genital wart cases.
Human papillomavirus, commonly called HPV, is the most common sexually transmitted disease in this country, with about 20 million people infected.
The vaccine is most effective when given to girls before they become sexually active, which would require administration between the ages of 9 and 13.
Public health groups, nine of whom testified before the panel Thursday morning, were unanimous in recommending approval of the vaccine.
A vaccine utilization committee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is scheduled to meet June 29. It could vote then on whether to recommend universal use of Gardasil in females. A draft proposal recommends vaccinating all girls ages 11 and 12.
Requirements for its use, however, can only be mandated by individual states. In some, including California, such a mandate would require passage of legislation, said Dr. Eileen Yamada of the state Department of Health Services.
Even if it becomes a requirement, added Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women of America, all states allow children to opt out of mandatory vaccinations for medical or other reasons.
