The HPV vaccine is effective in “preventing infection with HPV, which can lead to cancer of the cervix“according to Helen Bedford, professor at University College London’s Institute of Child Health.
The HPV virus is a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) that experts have linked for many years with an increase in the development of cervical cancer.
According to Marc Arbyn of the Unit of Cancer Epidemiology at the Belgian Cancer Center in Brussels, “over half a million new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed every year. Cervical cancer is the fourth most frequent cancer in women in the world.”
The two most commonly used vaccines, Cervarix and Gardasil, have been conceived to be effective against the strains HPV 16 and HPV 18, which account for 75 percent of cancer of the cervix
According to the World Health Organization, these vaccines are very effective and come with little risks when used by young women between the age of 15 and 26. The Organization guidelines even recommend that both girls and boys between the ages of 9 and 14 should be vaccinated against HPV.
“HPV vaccine was introduced 10 years ago for 13- to 14-year-old girls to prevent infection with HPV, which can lead to cancer of the cervix“, said Helen Bedford. “This, together with early evidence of reduction in cervical cancer in Finland, confirms the groundbreaking value of this cancer-preventing vaccine. It also provides reassuring evidence of the safety of HPV vaccines.“
