Human Papilloma Virus

On June 8, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first vaccine to lower a woman's risk of developing cervical cancer. The vaccine, Gardasil, prevents infection by four strains of human papillomavirus, a common sexually transmitted disease. The vaccine was approved for use in girls and women ages 9 to 26. For women older than 26, Pap smears remain necessary to guard against cervical cancer. Shari Roan ** Three-quarters of all U.S.

An experimental vaccine against cervical cancer has cleared its final clinical hurdle, showing in a large trial of more than 12,000 women that it is 100% effective in blocking the major forms of the disease, its manufacturer said Thursday. Merck Inc. said it would seek Food and Drug Administration approval for the vaccine, called Gardasil, this year and could begin marketing it next year. The vaccine immunizes against human papilloma virus, or HPV, the primary cause of cervical cancer.

Re "Abstinence-Only: Breeding Ignorance," Commentary, Dec. 7: What abstinence education programs promote is the truth: the fact that abstinence is the only 100% effective method for preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. At a time when more than 10,000 teens every day are contracting a sexually transmitted disease, shouldn't we be helping our teens avoid STDs altogether? Take, for example, the most common sexually transmitted disease in America -- human papilloma virus.

An experimental vaccine against one strain of the human papilloma virus blocked most infections and, more important, prevented development of a precursor to cervical cancer, researchers said Monday. The results are an important step toward the eradication of cervical cancer, which strikes about 15,000 women in the U.S. annually, killing a third of them. Globally, the disease strikes half a million women every year and kills 60% of them.

Latinas contract cervical cancer almost twice as often as other women, indicating that not enough of them are having Pap tests, federal officials said Wednesday. The study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also found that older women of all ethnic groups were more likely to show advanced cases of the disease when first diagnosed. These women sometimes lack easy access to screening tests because of their age, low education, low income or lack of health insurance, the CDC's Dr.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women worldwide, trailing only tumors of the breast. But if a growing coalition of researchers has its way, the insidious disease should fall out of the top 10 within the next two decades and could eventually drop completely off physicians' radar screens. Every year, cervical cancer strikes nearly half a million women around the world; about 200,000 women a year die of the disease.

You've just gotten the diagnosis: You have genital warts. But what does this mean? Human papillomavirus, or HPV, is the virus that causes genital warts. Genital HPV is usually spread from person to person during sexual activity. But there are other facts you should know about HPV: Certain strains of HPV can increase a woman's risk of contracting cancer of the cervix. The virus does cause genital warts, but, even if you have no warts, you can still have the virus. And you can still give HPV to your partner during sex. It's hard to know when you became infected because you can have the virus for years without any signs or symptoms.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the United States, affecting an estimated 24 million to 40 million people. But because HPV is common and often symptomless, it tends to go undetected and untreated. Here's a primer. * Question: What is human papillomavirus? Answer: The name of a group of viruses that includes more than 80 types. Certain types cause warts on the hands or feet.

A diet low in a B vitamin called folic acid or folate makes a woman more susceptible to cervical cancer caused by human papilloma virus, researchers from the University of Alabama Medical School reported last week in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. The human papilloma virus causes genital warts in both men and women.

Robin Sealander was relieved with the results of her Pap smear. For several months in late 1985, the 26-year-old Baldwin Park woman had suffered from heavy vaginal bleeding and irregular menstrual periods. She went to her gynecologist fearing that she had cancer. The doctor took a Pap smear, a test used to detect cervical cancer. It came back negative, as had two previous tests. Nevertheless, Sealander's symptoms didn't go away.