Broad Support for Vaccine That Could Prevent Cervical Cancer

June 30, 2005 — -- Use of a vaccine that may prevent human papilloma virus, a sexually transmitted disease that can cause cancer, outweighs the risk of possibly promoting promiscuity, say two Christian groups.

"Even though we believe that abstinence is the best way to prevent any sexual disease before marriage and in the younger years of the girl's life, we do support a vaccination that would prevent this horrible disease from taking the lives of our young girls, mothers and grandmothers in their later years," Roberta Combs, president of the Christian Coalition of America, said in a statement.

Medical experts are applauding the vaccine, which is still being tested. They believe it would prevent the 70 percent of cervical cancer cases that are caused by two strains of HPV, according to MedlinePlus, a division of the National Library of Medicine. It is designed primarily for pre-pubescent girls not yet exposed to the virus.

At least 20 million people in the United States are infected with HPV, according to the American Social Health Association. The virus has no obvious symptoms and is typically diagnosed by a Pap test.

About 10,370 cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year, and about 3,710 women will die from it, according to the American Cancer Society. Between 60 and 80 percent of those with cervical cancer haven't had a Pap test in the past five years, ACS statistics show.

Pia de Solenni, director of life and women's issues for the Family Research Council, an organization dedicated to upholding "the institutions of marriage and family," says a vaccine is not the solution.

"The situation they are trying to remedy with the vaccine is one that ultimately requires some type of behavior modification," said de Solenni. "Abstinence until marriage and fidelity in marriage."

But she said the vaccine "is one step in treating the cancer."

"We're not against the vaccine per se, we're concerned that the educational component be in place," said de Solenni.

Major Breakthrough

Merck and GlaxoSmithKline are reporting successful trials of the vaccine. Merck is targeting two of the more than 100 strains of HPV thought to cause most cervical cancers, and GSK is focusing on four of the high-risk strains, according to Dr. Thomas R. Broker, president of the International Papillomavirus Society.

The vaccine could be the prologue to a new chapter in women's cancers. Until now, the Pap smear has been used to detect and treat HPV before it can become cervical cancer. There are several treatment options for cervical cancer, including cryosurgery, laser surgery or a total hysterectomy. More severe cases of cervical cancer are also treated with radiation or chemotherapy.

Rather than having to treat cancer, a vaccine could mean women would never have to face this kind of diagnosis.

"I personally believe the vaccine story represents a major breakthrough," said Dr. Alex Ferenczy, a pathology professor who worked on a Merck trial.

Preventing the Disease

Ferenczy and Broker both said young girls are the best candidates for the vaccine because it is less likely they will have already come in contact with HPV.

"The ideal will, of course, be to vaccinate people approximately at pre-puberty or pre-adolescence," said Broker. "If I were to personally make a suggestion, I would say people ages 8 to 10. To me, that would be the absolute ideal."

De Solenni, of the FRC, said preventing the disease begins with parents, not their kids.

"The real issue is, parents need to spend some time with their kids and talk to them about the decisions about their lives," she said. "A vaccine is not going to take away the responsibility of the parents."

Fighting cervical cancer with abstinence is not realistic, according to Broker.

"Abstinence is not going to eradicate a virus that affects every vertebrate on the planet," said Broker. "What we can do in a constructive way is dramatically reduce the transmission of HPV beginning with young people. The availability of a vaccine is in no way going to alter people's sexual behavior."

A Public Health Issue

Ferenczy said he doesn't believe any parent would turn down a chance to prevent a disease that could lead to cancer in their child.

"If I tell a mom of an 8-year-old that there is a vaccine against cancer, I don't think she'll say, 'I don't want my kid to be vaccinated,' " Ferenczy said. "I just don't see it."

Instead, medical experts say that with HPV primarily spread through both sexual and skin-to-skin contact, vaccinating women of any age is a matter of public responsibility.

"When there is a means to reduce dramatically any disease, then the public health imperative is to do the very best you can," said Broker. "This is not a moral or behavioral issue; this is a public health issue."