An experimental human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is now being tested in female New Zealand and Australian volunteers ages 18-26, and researchers are hoping it could prevent 90 percent of cancer-causing HPV strains.
The drug firm CSL is testing the HPV vaccine candidate, which uses the same technology as the HPV vaccines Gardasil and Cervarix. HPV types 16 and 18, which cause 70 percent of cervical cancer cases, are blocked by both Gardasil and Cervarix, while Gardasil also protects against HPV types that cause most genital warts. Both vaccines are covered under Australia's National Immunization Program.
The trial vaccine, however, targets additional HPV strains that together cause 90 percent of cervical cancer cases. It is not yet known whether simply adding targeted HPV strains will boost the protection a vaccine offers, said Professor Ian Frazer, the Queensland scientist who developed the technology used in HPV vaccines.
In the clinical trials, volunteers will receive either Gardasil or the experimental HPV vaccine and be tracked over three years. Bringing the successful vaccine to market would take at least five more years, said Dr. Peter Richmond, head of the Vaccine Trials Group of the Perth-based Telethon Institute for Child Health Research.
11/12/07
AUSTRALIA; NEW ZEALAND: New Trial Vaccine to Block 90 Percent of Cervical Cancer
Source: Australian Associated Press:: Tamara McLean; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention