WASHINGTON – Efforts to develop the world’s first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer took a key step forward Monday with test results suggesting that it can provide long-lasting protection.
Four years after getting the vaccine, 94 percent of women were protected from infection with the virus that causes most cervical cancers and none had developed worrisome precancerous conditions, a study showed.
“We’re thrilled about these results. The immune responses seem to be really long-lasting,” said Dr. Eliav Barr, who leads development of the vaccine for Merck &Co. The company plans to seek U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval next year for an expanded version of the vaccine that also could be used to prevent genital warts in women and men.
The new study was funded by Merck and led by University of Washington researchers who presented results Monday at a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.
“They showed clear effectiveness,” said Dr. Scott Hammer, a Columbia University infectious disease expert who reviewed the work but has no ties to Merck or the study. “This is a very important issue for women’s health around the world.”
Cervical cancer strikes nearly half a million women worldwide each year and kills about half. In the United States, about 15,000 women get it and about 5,000 die.
Virtually all cases are caused by infection with human papilloma virus, or HPV, which is spread through sex. One strain, HPV-16, accounts for about half of all cervical cancers.
A previous study showed that HPV-16 infections were completely prevented in 768 women who had received the Merck vaccine 18 months earlier. None developed precancerous conditions either.
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