December 10, 2008

HPV Vaccine for Guys: Positive Early Data

An early look at a study of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil in men and boys found fewer infections with cancer-causing strains of HPV among those receiving the vaccine compared with placebo, according to an announcement by Merck and a report by UCSF Today.

Gardasil is currently approved in the United States to prevent HPV infection in girls and young women. It is hoped that the vaccine will reduce the number of cases of cervical cancer in women. HPV can also lead to penile and anal cancer, so researchers have been studying the vaccine in boys and men.

The study reported by Merck has enrolled 4,065 men and boys between the ages of 16 and 26. After an average of 29 months of follow-up post vaccination, only 15 of the men and boys had persistent infection with HPV lasting six months or more. This compared with 101 cases of persistent infection in the group who received a placebo. While there were only three cases of genital warts—also caused by HPV—in the Gardasil group, there were 31 cases in the placebo group.

Though penile cancer is rare, anal cancer is much more common in men who have sex with men (MSM). Joel Palefsky, MD, a professor at the University of California in San Francisco and a researcher involved in the study, commented that rates of anal cancer in MSM may be 10 times higher than cervical cancer in women. Merck says they will submit data on Gardasil in men and boys to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before the end of the year.

“To me, the data suggest very strongly that the vaccine will work in men,” Palefsky said. “Policymakers will have to analyze cost-benefit data to tell us who should be vaccinated.”

Search: Merck, Gardasil, human papillomavirus (HPV), anal cancer, penile cancer, cervical cancer, genital warts,

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Previous Comments:

Rob, Boston, 2008-12-23 14:54:18
Mauro; call, write to, talk to or visit your elected officials in NM. Contact your federal officials too. Tell them how important this vaccine is to you and the people you know in terms of lives saved from needless HPV infection and anal cancer. Include links to factual reports such as this one. Once the FDA advances the Merck data, Congress will need to decide if it makes more sense to vaccinate or treat HPV.

Mauro, Albuquerque, 2008-12-17 11:28:07
How do we get Medicare and other health insurers to cover this vaccine? I know of at least 5 deaths and several other guys living with anal cancer. Any ideas or suggestions?