AHN Staff
Nice, France (AHN) - U.S. researchers have claimed that a vaccine for cervical cancer in women also cures genital warts in males prompting the drug's maker to seek federal approval to sell it.
Researchers who injected Gardasil and fake vaccines on more than 4,000 males aged 16 to 26 in 20 countries over a six-month period found that 90 percent of recipients who got the real shot did not develop the sexually transmitted disease 30 months later. The group given the fake drug resulted in 101 cases of genital warts infection.
The men did not suffer any side effects during the clinical trial funded by Gardasil maker Merck & Co. Inc. The research is continuing.
The researchers presented their findings on Thursday at the annual meeting of the European Research Organization on Genital Infection and Neoplasia in Nice, France.
Meanwhile, Merck plans to apply for government approval to sell Gardasil for use in preventing genital warts.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration licensed Gardasil for use in girls and women ages 9 to 26 in 2006. The drug, which is administered for six months and cost $375, targets the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes cancer of the cervix in women.
HPV, which is transmitted through sex, also causes cancer of the anus and penis in men as well as genital warts.
Article © AHN - All Rights Reserved
|
