Cervical Cancer: HPV Vaccine

06 Nov 2021 Cervical Cancer: HPV Vaccine

• A research has found that HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) vaccine can prevent cervical cancer.
• This vaccine was made only in the 2000s, but it has only been discovered that it can prevent cervical cancer.
• The HPV vaccine has reduced the incidence of cervical cancer in the UK by 87% in women who took the vaccine at the age of 12 or 13.

Cervical Cancer:

• This cancer occurs in the cells of the cervix of women due to exposure to the HPV virus.
• Exposure to this virus weakens the body’s immune system and if the virus survives for a few years, the cervical cells become infected with cancer.

HPV virus:

• This virus is the most common infection of the reproductive tract, with more than 100 types.
• More than 40 of these HPV are spread through sexual contact. And they cause cancer infection in genital, anus, cervix, penile, vagina etc.

Some vaccines are also available for the above diseases-

1. Gardasil
2. Cervarix
3. Gardasil 9

Cervical Cancer: India-

• 17% of common cancer and 27% of cervical cancer cases are found in India.
• In India, two vaccines Quadrivalent and Cervarix were recognized in 2008 and a non-valent vaccine was recognized in 2018.
• This vaccine is not yet recommended for men in India.

Indian initiative to combat cancer:

• National Cancer Grid.
• National program for prevention and control of cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

khyati khare