MD Anderson officials react to FDA Approval of Gardasil 9 for the prevention of certain cancers

HOUSTON, Dec. 11, 2014 The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval this week of a new human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine that targets five additional virus strains fortifies a proven cancer-prevention weapon, according to Ronald A. DePinho, M.D., president of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. 

The FDA approved Gardasil 9 for the prevention of certain cancers caused by nine HPV strains – five more than its predecessor, Gardasil. The FDA said Gardasil 9 has the potential to prevent the vast majority of cervical, vulvar, vaginal and anal cancers.

"This is an incredible step forward in our fight to end cancer," said DePinho. "Up to 80 percent of the world will be infected with HPV at some point, according to estimates. MD Anderson hopes the vaccine approval will help change the conversation about HPV vaccination from sex to saving lives."

HPV vaccination in children has been at the center of the discussions leading to the FDA's announcement. DePinho, the father of three, considers HPV vaccination a "national child welfare priority and major parental responsibility."  

According to Lois M. Ramondetta, M.D., associate professor, gynecologic oncology, this new vaccine will cover close to 90 percent of cervical cancers, one of the most common forms of cancer caused by HPV.

"If we can increase vaccination rates in this country, this vaccine has the power to save thousands of lives," she said. 

Facts about HPV-related cancers and vaccination rates in the United States:

• HPV infection causes 5 percent of cancers worldwide – including cases of cervical, oropharyngeal (head/neck), anal, vulvar, vaginal and penile cancers.
• This accounts for 45,000 cases of preventable cancers and 10,000 deaths this year in the U.S.
• Oropharyngeal cancers affect men by a ratio of four-to-one and are on course to eclipse cervical cancer, for which the vaccine was originally approved and marketed.
• Just 57 percent of girls and 35 percent of boys are vaccinated, far short of the Healthy People 2020 goal of at least 80 percent.
• Only one in three girls and fewer than one in six boys receive all three vaccine doses.

About MD Anderson
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world's most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. MD Anderson is one of only 41 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). For the past 25 years, MD Anderson has ranked as one of the nation's top two cancer centers in U.S. News & World Report's annual "Best Hospitals" survey. MD Anderson receives a cancer center support grant from the NCI of the National Institutes of Health (P30 CA016672).

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SOURCE The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

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