A new study suggests Gardasil, a vaccine indicated for the prevention of the human papillomavirus (HPV), may help prevent warts in boys and men.
Gardasil cervical cancer vaccine is intended to help protect against 4 strains of HPV – 2 types that cause 70 percent of cervical cancer cases and 2 types that cause 90 percent of genital warts cases. Gardasil is recommended for girls and women ages 9 to 26.
HPV is not just a concern for women. HPV can lead to genital warts, anal cancer and penile cancer in men.
The study included more than 4,000 men between the ages of 16 to 26. They were split in two groups – one group received three shots of Gardasil over six months and the other group received a placebo.
The men who got Gardasil shots were 90 percent less likely to develop genital warts. None of the participants reported serious side effects during the study. Although, those who received Gardasil reported more injection site reactions than that of the placebo group.
The study was funded by Merck, who manufactures Gardasil.
Gardasil has not yet been approved by the FDA for use in boys or men. The company plans to submit a U.S. application by the end of the year for the use of Gardasil in males ages 9 to 26.
A recent report in the Journal of Infectious Diseases suggests that while men are at high risk of contracting human papillomavirus (HPV), most infections last a year or less, about the same amount of time the disease persists in women.
And another study showed human papillomavirus caused 25,000 cases of cancer a year in the U.S. between 1998 and 2003, according to studies conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Based on study findings, researchers suggest a wide need for screening of both men and women for HPV.
More than 9,700 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed each year, about 3,700 results in death.
The findings of the latest study were presented this week at the annual meeting of the European Research Organization on Genital Infection and Neoplasia (EUROGIN) in France. #