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HPV Vaccine: Preventing Cervical Cancer

A three-part vaccine could help protect you against the most common types of HPV

Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. But in the United States, the Pap test has accounted for a significant drop in cervical cancer in the last 25 years. And now, a vaccine that prevents human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, a common sexually transmitted disease that is a leading cause of cervical cancer, adds to the arsenal for dismantling this disease. 

“Getting an annual Pap test is the best prevention for women against cervical cancer,” says Cheung K. Kim, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. “The Pap test identifies precancerous changes in the cervix which can usually be treated long before they develop into cancer.”

A Pap test is typically done during an annual gynecological checkup. It’s a simple procedure in which the doctor removes a tiny sample of cells from the opening of the cervix for laboratory testing. An abnormal result does not necessarily mean that you have cancer. If your Pap test suggests a precancerous change in the cervix, your doctor will advise you about further evaluation. 

Vaccination protects against HPV.

Gardasil® is a vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for females between the ages of nine and 26. Any primary care physician – including gynecologists, pediatricians and family medicine doctors – can administer the vaccine, which is delivered in a series of three injections over six months.

While the vaccine doesn’t provide total protection against HPV, it does guard against the most common types of HPV that are the main cause (70 percent) of cervical cancer or genital warts. Even if a woman already has one strain of HPV, the vaccine could prevent her from becoming infected with one of the other strains. Screening for cervical cancer and precancers should continue in both vaccinated and unvaccinated women.

For more information about the HPV vaccine, read our Q&A with Jefferson gynecologic oncologist Norman G. Rosenblum, MD, PhD.

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