TUESDAY, June 2, 2009 (Health.com) — Most people have heard about the shot that can protect young girls and women from the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can lead to cervical cancer. But what about older women?
The picture for older women—meaning mid-20s and up—is a bit murkier. According to a study published this week in The Lancet, an HPV vaccine can indeed protect women ages 24 to 45 from getting the sexually transmitted virus.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean that every woman in this age group needs—or should get—such shots, some experts say. The vaccine is currently approved for use in women and girls ages 9 to 24, and insurers don’t cover it for older women.
In addition, it’s not clear whether the vaccine will actually protect older women from cervical cancer, and it isn’t cheap. The vaccine’s three injections (sold as Gardasil in the United States) cost about $375, and that doesn’t include the office-visit fees that some doctors charge.
It’s definitely possible that Gardasil could benefit older women, says Kenneth Noller, MD, of Tufts Medical Center, in Boston, who wasn’t involved in the research. “This article doesn’t give me enough information to know,” Dr. Noller says. “What we really need to know is if these women who were vaccinated developed less significant disease than women who weren’t vaccinated, and we won’t know this until several years from now.”
Nevertheless, Kevin Ault, MD, an ob-gyn at Emory University School of Medicine, in Atlanta, who helped conduct the new study, says he would recommend Gardasil for older patients who run the risk of being exposed to an HPV infection. He uses the example of someone entering the dating scene after years of monogamy. “Real-life examples come to me all the time,” Dr. Ault says.
Next page: Vaccine doesn’t protect women already infected with HPV
Comments (2)
There is a new book on the HPV vaccine: The HPV Vaccine Controversy- Sex, Cancer, God and Politics which gives an overview of HPV infections and an unbiased opinion of the vaccines. It is authored by Shobha S. Krishnan, M.D, Barnard college, Columbia University. The book is available at amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com and is written without the influence of any pharmaceutical companies or special interest groups. Link to the book: http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/C35011.aspx
Ladies 30 and over can protect themselves right now from developing Cervical Cancer. Be sure to go for your annual visit and demand from you doctor that you receive your Pap AND a HPV test. Right now if you get the Digene HPV test added to your Pap you will know your risk of developing disease. I have low grade disease right now that was missed by the Pap test alone and was found because my doctor gave me a HPV test also an I am persistently HPV positive. Go check out a great site http://www.thehpvtest.com and decide for yourself but luckily my doctor was smart enough to give me the test. Tell your friends and help eliminate cervical cancer.