Monday, April 25, 2011

Gardasil

Challenge: Find the 3 mistakes in the following paragraph:

Gardasil is a quadrivalent HPV vaccine that targets HPV 16 and 18 which cause all cervical cancer as well as HPV 6 and 11 which cause 90% of genital warts. It is most effective prior to sexual debut. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends that HPV vaccination be offered to women between age 11-12 as well as catch-up vaccination for women 13-26. It should not be offered to pregnant women because of teratogenicity noted in clinical trials. The vaccine has also been FDA-approved for use in men, and a clinical trial showed decreased anal intraepithelial neoplasia and cancer in men who have sex with men. Lastly, women who receive the HPV vaccine prior to sexual debut do not need to have cervical screening until age 25.

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2 comments:

tree said...

1. HPV 16 and 18 cause most, but not all cervical cancers.
2. Gardasil is Pregnancy Category B because there is no evidence of impaired fertility or harm to the fetus.
3. Women still require regular cervical screening, regardless of HPV vaccination status, particularly because there are other causes of cervical cancer.

Craig said...

good catches!
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Gardasil

Mistakes include: (1) HPV 16 and 18 only cause 70% of the cervical cancers worldwide, not all of them. (2) Gardasil does not contain a live virus and is pregnancy class B; no obvious teratogenicity has been observed. However, vaccination during pregnancy is not recommended due to limited data in this setting. Lastly (3) cervical cancer screening should still be undertaken.

Source: UpToDate.