'Why not get your child vaccinated against cancer?'
Doctor sheds light on benefits of HPV Vaccine
by JILL SCHMELZER Reporter
T he American Cancer Society estimated that 9,710 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer

this year and 3,700 will die.

Worldwide, this type of cancer is the second most common cancer in women and is estimated to cause more than 470,000 new cases and 233,000 deaths each year, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Web site.

Nearly, 70 percent of cervical cancers are caused by the human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease, and HPV is responsible for 90 percent of genital warts.

In June 2006, the FDA approved the vaccine Gardasil, which offers prevention against certain strands of HPV that cause the cancer and genital warts.

According to a press release from The Center for Disease Control, it is recommended the vaccine be routinely given to girls when they are 11 or 12. However, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices also vaccinates young women between 13 and 26.

Dr. Diane Sutter of AuroraCare of Western New York said thus far, there hasn't been much interest in patients or children getting vaccinated.

"This is a virus spread through intimate contact; there's some sort of social and moral concern about it," said Sutter, who is an obstetrician and gynecologist in East Aurora. "But why not get a vaccination against cancer?"

Sutter, who will join the staff of AuroraCare's Amherst office, set to open in 2007, said the vaccination should be given to teenagers before they are sexually active, but it can be administered after sexual intercourse has occurred.

"No one wants to think their 12-year-old is having sex, but unwanted sex can also occur. What about date rape," she asked, noting some teens may not become sexually active until adulthood. However, many do engage in the act before college.

Sutter said it was discovered that cervical cancer was a viral infection after a man's wife died of it, and after he remarried, his second wife developed it.

Most clinicians don't test specifically for HPV unless the patient's Pap smear shows some irregularity.

The Pap test is given to women during their yearly gynecology appointment, and it tests for changes in the cells of the cervix, which may be an indicator cervical cancer is present, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Web site.

The vaccine has been tested in thousands of women around the world and has been found to be safe and effective in providing protection against two types of HPV that can cause most cervical cancers, the CDC Web site stated.

The vaccine is given three times - the initial shot, at two months and six months. It costs approximately $120 for each shot, and doctors' offices are in negotiations with insurance companies to cover the cost, Sutter said.

"If it were me, I'd get vaccinated," Sutter said, noting women older than 26 can also be vaccinated.

Many times the virus goes away on its own, Sutter said, however, if the virus is an aggressive form, cancer can develop.

"Why aren't women beating the doors down to get their kids vaccinated," Sutter asked. "I am stunned by the complete lack of interest."

The vaccine was approved four months ago, and patients are currently being educated about it.

Sutter said if a patient is interested, she will order the vaccine from Merck and Co., which is the supplier of the vaccine.

"There has always been HPV; they just finally figured out a vaccine against it," Sutter said.

For more information, visit www.fda.gov. Go to search and type in HPV Vaccine.

AuroraCare of WNY is located at 268 Main St., East Aurora and at 11 Summer St., Buffalo. For an appointment or more information, call the East Aurora office at 652-8606 or the Buffalo office at 883-4350.

e-mail: jschmelzer@beenews.com