Researchers in Colombia have reported that the Gardasil vaccine against the human papilloma virus (HPV) may be effective for women between the ages of twenty-six and forty-five. The FDA has not approved the vaccination of women over twenty-six, nor is the practice addressed in CDC guidelines.
Dr. Ross was impressed by the reported 90% protection rate for women who have shown no signs of cervical disease. Hopefully, it will spark a movement for approval by the FDA, he says. He also thinks that measures to prevent the spread of the virus should go even further: Males should be vaccinated, too, since women can t get the virus alone. The evidence seems to agree with Dr. Ross, since HPV has been shown to cause cancer in men as well as women, and similar results have been demonstrated as to the efficacy of the vaccine for men.
