January is Cervical Health Awareness Month

Courtesy National Cervical Cancer Coalition

Somewhere around 11,000 new cases of cervical cancer will be diagnosed among American women in 2010. An estimated 4,000 women will die from this disease, the only cancer known to be exclusively caused by a common virus, the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). High-risk HPVs may cause cases of mouth, head and neck cancer as well, according to research recently completed.

Other than those practicing lifelong abstinence, most adults acquire an HPV infection during their lifetimes. But mostly the infections turn out harmless and dissappear on their own.

Other infections persist and if they remain untreated for years, or even decades, may lead to cancer. Precancer detection is essential for treatment to prevent the development of cancer. Get a Pap test regularly from a gynocologist in order to detect when HPV causes cells to change long before they progress to cervical cancer.

Regular screening is still recommended despite any new information coming out. Cervical cytology screening is recommended for women every two years beginning at age 21.

The National Cervical Cancer Coalition (NCCC) founded in 1996, is a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to serving women with, or at risk for, cervical cancer and HPV disease. For more information visit the Web site at www.nccc-online.org.

Misread Pap Smear Test Malpractice Lawsuit Attorney

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Green tea studied in search to stop cervical cancer

Tuscon, AZ

The group of viruses known as HPV is a known cause of cervical cancer. It’s also the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States. It’s estimated that half of all sexually active Americans will contract HPV during their lifetime and at any given time approximately 20,000,000 people in the United States are carrying the disease.

Most people who get HPV clear the infection on their own, but some people have persistent HPV which can lead to precancerous lesions and other damage to a woman’s cervix. Although the Food and Drug administration approved Gardasil, a vaccine for the virus, in 2006, it cannot be given to women who have already been infected, even if the disease in no longer present in their bodies.

Up until now, all known treatment for persistent HPV have been painful and invasive, involving freezing or surgical removal of part of the woman’s cervix. Both procedures also make it difficult for a pregnant woman to carry a baby to full term. This has lead scientists to search for a better, less invasive method of stopping HPV before it causes the precancerous lesions.

Now Arizona Cancer Center is testing a green tea extract known as Polyphenon E, to see if it is effective against HPV. The $1 million clinical trial will include 150 women in Arizona, California, and North Carolina, all of whom currently are currently infected with HPV. Half of the women will be given a placebo. The other have will be given 800-milligram capsules of green tea extract. This is about the same amount of green tea flavonoids one would receive from drinking approximately 8 cups a day of green tea.

According to Wendy Thomas, research specialist at the Arizona Cancer Center, which is affiliated with the University of Arizona, “Finally we will have a yes or a no. And it may not work, but at least we will know."

The study is being funded by National Cancer Institute’s Division of Cancer Prevention.

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Cervical cancer- shame and fear?

Seattle, WA

Thanks to the new HPV commercials the general public is now aware that cervical cancer can be caused by an STD. They urge more people to be tested and vaccinated, yet now that it has been added to the ‘dirty disease’ category like HIV and AIDS will less women be tested or comfortably admit their diagnosis? It’s sad that we live in a judgmental world. Cancer is cancer no matter where it is on your body. Breast cancer carried the same hush-hush stigma not so long ago and more women lost their lives going undiagnosed or diagnosed too late.

Not all patients with cervical cancer had HPV. In the words of a 33 year old woman who underwent a radical hysterectomy to save her life, “I have no family history of cervical cancer; I’ve never had any STDs; I haven’t had multiple sex partners; and I don’t HPV. Perhaps, when people are aware that one has cervical cancer, they won't look at it as being a "dirty woman" disease like my family did.”

No one deserves cancer. No one battling cancer deserves to be treated with anything but love and compassion. Remember, any STD can occur with just one time, just one partner. Yes, the risk increases with more partners but the reality of infidelity, or an unknowing infected partner can lead to HPV.

The Seattle Cancer Care Alliance advises, “Regular Pap tests are important to your survival: about 90 percent of women whose cervical cancer was detected by a Pap test will survive. The figure is much lower--only 40 percent--for women whose cancer was not diagnosed until they experienced vaginal bleeding.”

According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology, possible symptoms are:

• Blood spots or light bleeding between or following periods


• * Menstrual bleeding that is longer and heavier than usual


• * Bleeding after intercourse, douching, or a pelvic examination


• * Pain during sexual intercourse


• * Bleeding after menopause


• * Increased vaginal discharge

Be informed, be supportive and never live in fear or shame when your life or their's is on the line.

Find a Gynecologic Oncologist: http://www.wcn.org/findadoctor/ Gynecologic oncologists are specially trained to care for women with gynecologic cancers such as cervical cancer, endometrial, or uterine cancer, or ovarian cancer.

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Glaxo's cervical cancer vaccine faces US battle

Trenton, NJ

New studies show GlaxoSmithKline PLC's vaccine Cervarix blocks the virus that causes cervical cancer, but if it wins approval for U.S. sales, it will face an uphill battle against Gardasil, which has owned the market here for three years.

Cervarix, Glaxo's vaccine against human papilloma virus or HPV, already is approved in more than 90 other countries, but has been held up by delays in the United States. Several years ago, the British drugmaker was in a neck-and-neck race with rival Merck & Co., Gardasil's maker, to be first on the U.S. market, but it lost when Gardasil got approved in June 2006.

Late in 2007, the Food and Drug Administration declined to approve approve Cervarix. GlaxoSmithKline submitted a new application on March 30 that included final data from an 18,000-woman study recently completed.

Final results from that study and two others are being presented this weekend at a conference in Sweden on papillomavirus. FDA is expected to decide whether to approve Cervarix within several months.

If it does, analyst Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, said doctors who have prescribed Gardasil for a few years may see no reason to switch -- unless GlaxoSmithKline convinces them its product is much more effective or has fewer side effects.

Both vaccines target the two types of HPV that cause about 70 percent of cervical cancers, types 16 and 18, and data indicate both are about 98 percent effective. But Merck also has data showing Gardasil blocks two other HPV types that cause most cases of genital warts that Cervarix does not target.

That will be a key factor for doctors, experts said.

"All else being equal, it's a no-brainer for the doctor, (who) wants to give the most efficacious treatment," Gordon said.

Gardasil racked up only $426 million in global sales in the most recent quarter, versus $69 million for Cervarix, which has won more contracts from government health programs in other countries.

Partial results of the new Cervarix studies released to The Associated Press indicate it also offers good protection against 12 other HPV types.

One of the studies, which looked at looked at levels of antibodies to some HPV types after study participants were vaccinated with Cervarix or Gardasil, found higher antibody levels induced by Cervarix. But Dr. Gary Dubin, head of one of Glaxo's clinical development centers, said that doesn't prove Cervarix is more effective.

New data will be presented at the same conference on Gardasil, indicating it blocks HPV 16 for at least 9 1/2 years, according to Merck. Glaxo has followed women for up to 7 1/2 years and continues to test some to see if they develop cervical lesions or cancer.

Dr. Cynthia Rand, a researcher, pediatrician and associate professor at the University of Rochester Medical School, said Cervarix appears to be effective. But she said the higher antibody levels triggered by Cervarix, compared with Gardasil, might be meaningless. She said doctors don't know if they will have to give booster shots years from now for either vaccine.

"It won't change my practice" of giving Gardasil and likely won't do so for other doctors, said Rand, whose university has patent claims and receives some royalties related to both vaccines. "Pediatricians prefer in general to also protect against genital warts."

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Lack of education makes silent HPV virus a real threat

Law Vegas, NV

HPV is sexually transmitted and causes cancer, may be prevented

Even if you think you’re safe, education about human Human Papillomavirus is crucial.

HPV affects both females and males and it is transmitted by any kind of sexual contact.

There are no symptoms associated with this virus, although some types of HPV might result in genital warts. The only way of knowing if someone is infected is by having regular pap smears.

In the past year the UNLV Health Center performed 913 pap smears; out of those, 77 were positive for HPV, which accounts for 8 percent of all the women tested, said Tina Saddler, nurse practitioner and associate director of the Student Health Center.

Abstinence, safe sex, fewer sexual partners and a vaccine are a few ways to prevent HPV, said Annette Magnus, grassroots organizer of one the Planned Parenthood Clinic of Southern Nevada.

There are more than 30 types of the virus, but only four types may lead to cervical cancer in women. Types 6, 11, 16 and 18 are the main worry, but also the only ones that might be prevented by the vaccine Gardasil, Magnus said.

Currently, Gardasil is the only FDA-approved vaccine on the market that may help guard against those types of HPV. It is recommended for females between the ages of nine and 26, she said.

Magnus suggested that men should also take the vaccine as a way to prevent spreading the virus.

“The Gardasil vaccine is one of the most promising new medical advances of our time because it opens a whole new world of prevention and treatment,” said Carol Kobashigawa, clinician for Planned Parenthood of Southern Nevada.

It is believed that the HPV vaccine will reduce HPV exposure and therefore reduce the number of abnormal pap smear results and the follow up tests, Saddler said. It is also believed that it will decrease a woman’s chance of developing cervical cancer, which is most often caused by HPV.

The message is to catch the virus in its early stages so there is no chance of it becoming cervical cancer.

There are more than 20 million people in the U.S. who are infected and an estimated 6.2 million who will get the virus each year. Fortunately, in most people, the body’s defenses are enough to clear HPV, Saddler said.

Kathy Underwood, a nurse practitioner and associate director at the Health Center, said that women should know the center is there to help them and answer any questions they might have.

“It can be very scary, but we can help them sort it through and give them real information,” Underwood said.

Even though in the past few years HPV has been more advertised and talked about, there is still a lot to be learned. Women and men can talk to their health care provider and discuss the best ways to prevent or treat HPV.

Education will always be one of the best tools to prevent viruses like HPV and other STDs.

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HPV Test Screens Best for Cervical Cancer

New York, NY

With the right test, a single round of screening can decrease the risk of death from cervical cancer by more than 50%, according to research published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The large, longitudinal study, conducted in nearly 500 villages in the rural Osmanabad district of central India, analyzed the effectiveness of three methods of screening, including the standard pap smear and the newer test for human papillomavirus, or HPV, whose sexually transmitted high-risk strains are known to cause cervical cancer. (Read "Cancer and Insurance: Who Do You Call?")

More broadly, researchers hope their findings will help determine how best to implement health outreach programs in developing communities — a crucial step toward preventing cancer deaths, which are increasing worldwide.

"In developing countries, screening is not that common," says Dr. Rengaswamy Sankaranarayanan, lead author of the study and head of the screening group at the International Agency for Research on Cancer. There are small-scale cancer screening efforts underway primarily in urban areas throughout Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, but they serve only a tiny slice of the population who would benefit, according to Sankaranarayanan. For example, "in India, less than one million pap smears are taken each year," he says, a fraction of the more than 200 million women who are at risk for developing cervical cancer.

Sankaranarayanan's study involved more than 130,000 women, ages 30 to 59, who were randomly divided into three test groups and a control group. Women in the test groups were screened using one of three tests: a pap smear, an HPV test or a visual inspection of the cervix after application of acetic acid (VIA), a component of vinegar that causes precancerous lesions to turn white. Among the study participants, only eight had ever undergone cervical cancer screening before. Women in the control group were informed about the causes and dangers of cervical cancer and instructed where they could go for testing, but were not given specific appointments; only 6% of those women followed through with screenings.

"One of the major barriers for screening is that you need to go to a screening center, you have to wait, you have to go back," says Sankaranarayanan. "Many of these women are poor women who have to go and work in the field every day." And many do not understand that cervical cancer can be deadly. "There are a lot of false assumptions," he says. "People aren't aware of the severity of the disease."

Of the women in the three experimental groups, who were given pre-scheduled screening appointments, nearly 80% showed up. Those who had a positive screen result or visual evidence of cervical dysplasia (abnormal cells on the cervix) were given follow-up treatment, including further testing, cryotherapy (the freezing and removal of abnormal cells) and, in cases of more serious cancer, surgery and radiation. (Read "Despite US Drop, Cancer Rates Grow Worldwide.")

Over the course of the eight-year study — women were tracked from 1999 to 2007 — researchers found that the HPV screen routed out more cancer and prevented more deaths than either of the other screening tests, and did so with the fewest false negatives. Among some 30,000 women screened for HPV, only eight patients who received negative results went on to develop cervical cancer. In the pap smear group, 22 women, or nearly three times as many as in the HPV group, who had negative results later developed cancer. In the VIA group, there were even more false negatives, with 25 women. In addition, in the HPV and pap smear groups, 60% of cancers were detected early, in stage I of development, compared with 42% in the VIA group.

"HPV appears to be a better test for screening," Sankaranarayanan says, reaffirming previous studies that have established a strong correlation between positive tests for HPV and development of cancerous lesions.

But HPV is a tricky virus to manage. Sankaranarayanan points out that, first, it is exceedingly common; there are some 100 different strains of HPV, of which 30 or 40 affect the vast majority of sexually active people during the course of their lifetimes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that as many as 80% of sexually active women (and 50% of all men and women) will be infected with HPV at some point. Second, the body most often clears the HPV virus on its own, without ever causing cancer or other symptoms (some strains of HPV also cause genital warts). "More than 80% of the infections will clear within two years of acquiring," he says, underscoring the accepted recommendation by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists that HPV tests not be used as a cervical-cancer screening tool in younger women, but only in women ages 30 and older. Infections are more likely to be persistent in this age group, which puts them at greater risk for cervical cancer. For younger women and girls, between the ages of 11 and 26, health authorities in the U.S. and several European countries recommend the HPV vaccine to prevent infection.

From a practical standpoint, limiting HPV testing to women over 30 can also reduce unnecessary costs in treating patients in whom the infection would have resolved itself, a particularly important factor to consider when attempting to get cervical cancer prevention programs off the ground in the developing world and among lower-income women, Sankaranarayanan says. Indeed, the current standard in HPV tests, the Hybrid Capture II, which was used for this study, is already too costly for wide-scale application, running as much as $30 per test. Realistically, in order to be used on a grand scale, tests would have to cost about $1 each, Sankaranarayanan estimates.

In that respect, there may be hope on the horizon. A Chinese study, funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (as was the current study) and published in 2008, reported that a new HPV test, called careHPV, is easier to use, produces results faster and is just as effective as the Hybrid Capture II. Researchers say that when careHPV becomes available — Sankaranarayanan anticipates it will be on the market within two years — it will cost a fraction of the price of the Hybrid Capture II.

In the meantime, he says we need to educate people about cervical cancer and the virus that causes it, particularly in the developing world. Combating the disease begins with simple steps, Sankaranarayanan says: "Taking away the stigma of HPV infection and specifically targeting these deprived groups with the proper education."

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Hologic reports positive results for HPV test

New York, NY

Hologic reports positive results from large-scale study of its HPV test

Diagnostic test maker Hologic Inc. late Thursday said its Cervista HPV test met or exceeded expectations in a trial of more than 4,000 women.

The test is designed to detect the 14 types of human papillomavirus that cause cancer. Hologic has submitted the test to the Food and Drug Administration, which is reviewing it as a general screening test for women 30 years old and up.

The company said its primary trial of the test showed 100 percent accuracy at detecting the HPV strain that poses the highest risk of cancer. Cervista showed 92 percent accuracy at detecting a second strain that is often linked to cervical cancer.

Hologic, whose products are geared toward women's health, is scheduled to present the results formally at a medical conference in Nice, France, on Saturday.

Lazard Capital Markets analyst Dr. Sean Lavin reaffirmed a "Buy" rating on the stock, and said physicians will likely be impressed by the test's sensitivity in detecting HPV. He also reaffirmed a $24 price target.

The test would compete with an HPV test made by Netherlands-based Qiagen N.V.

Shares of Hologic fell 19 cents to $14.33 in morning trading.

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Nobel Prize to HPV researcher highlights importance of cervical cancer screening and prevention

Venlo, Netherlands [press release]

QIAGEN's HPV testing technologies are a successful commercialization of the Nobel Prize in Medicine winner's research

The Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the causal link between human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer has spurred lifesaving prevention technologies -- such as HPV testing and HPV vaccines -- that are helping to eradicate cervical cancer globally. The Nobel Prize Committee today announced that Professor Harald zur Hausen at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg will receive this year's Nobel Prize in Medicine/Physiology for the discovery of certain human papillomaviruses (HPV) as the primary cause of cervical cancer. Expanding on Prof. zur Hausen's research, QIAGEN (Nasdaq: QGEN; Frankfurt, Prime Standard: QIA) developed and markets the digene(R: 49.52, +3.52, +7.65%) HPV Test, a screening test to detect the high-risk types of the HPV virus that cause cervical cancer. QIAGEN is also developing careHPV, a new HPV test specifically for use in regions of the world with scarce resources.

"Prof. zur Hausen has revolutionized cancer research and in particular cervical cancer research. His pioneering discoveries made the development of vaccines and novel diagnostics -- including our HPV testing platform -- possible, and today women around the world are benefiting from dramatically improved cervical cancer testing, treatment and prevention technologies. These innovations stem from the initial discoveries of Prof. zur Hausen. QIAGEN wholeheartedly congratulates Prof. zur Hausen on the Nobel Prize Award for his ground-breaking discovery. His vision and scientific excellence created a new paradigm for cancer research and led to such great strides in cervical cancer prevention," said QIAGEN CEO Peer Schatz.

The Nobel Prize winner's discovery that the human papillomavirus causes cervical cancer ushered in a new field of cancer-focused HPV genetics research. The identification of the causal role of the HPV virus in cervical cancer spurred research teams to identify the high-risk types of HPV most commonly linked to cervical cancer, then create molecular diagnostic tests to identify the presence of these high-risk types in cervical cells. Today, QIAGEN's digene HPV test is becoming a standard of care for cervical cancer prevention for use together with a Pap test in women age 30 and older, and the cervical cancer vaccine is helping protect populations of young girls from ever contracting two of the most prevalent strains of high-risk HPV.

"Prof. zur Hausen's seminal work spurred a new field of cancer research and, ultimately, a new generation of diagnostics and prevention technologies," said Dr. Attila Lorincz, Professor of Molecular Epidemiology at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine (UK) and Chairman of QIAGEN's Women's Health Scientific Advisory Board. "With the combination of Pap and HPV testing for women age 30+ and the availability of a vaccine to immunize young girls against certain strains of the virus before HPV exposure, the promise of the global eradication of cervical cancer is near. The development of these prevention technologies is the outgrowth of Prof. zur Hausen's discoveries. QIAGEN built on these discoveries and developed lifesaving testing technologies that today enable the identification of HPV -- the cause of cervical cancer -- before it can develop into disease, cause suffering and take lives." Dr. Lorincz led QIAGEN's development of the first ever diagnostic test for the high-risk types of HPV associated with cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is the second-most-common cancer among women worldwide, and one of the most preventable ones. According to estimates 500,000 women are affected by cervical cancer every year causing around 250,000 deaths. The cancer is caused by sexually transmitted "high-risk" types of the human papillomavirus (HPV). Around 80 percent of women get an HPV infection at some point in their lives. However, in most cases, the infection goes away or is suppressed by the body without causing problems. It is only infections that persist that can cause abnormal cells to form that may develop into cervical cancer if not detected and treated early.

QIAGEN aims to make the benefits of HPV testing and early cervical cancer detection available to women across the globe. The digene HPV test and the careHPV test, currently in development, are screening tools that identify women most likely to have or develop cervical cancer by detecting the presence of the high-risk types of HPV which cause the disease. The digene HPV Test is the only FDA-approved and CE-marked test for the human papillomavirus, for use together with the Pap test in women 30 and older.

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New Study Shows Listeria Vaccine for Cervical Cancer Found Safe

New Study Shows Listeria Vaccine for Cervical Cancer Found Safe
CNN Money
October 16, 2007: 05:05 AM EST

NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J., Oct. 16 -- Researchers testing a vaccine based on the live bacteria Listeria, in women with advanced cervical cancer found it to be safe. The Lovaxin C vaccine being developed by Advaxis Inc. , is intended to treat cervical cancer and head and neck cancers that result from the human papilloma virus (HPV). This marked the first time the vaccine had been treated in humans.

"Our long held belief that live Listeria vaccines are safe, even in end stage cancer patients, has been confirmed with the results from our recent Phase I/II study. We have just entered the age of safe bacterial therapies," said Dr. John Rothman, VP of Clinical Development.

The immune response that Listeria generates is called "cellular" immunity, the type needed to attack cancer. Listeria is one of the strongest stimulators of cellular immunity known. "By redirecting it against specific tumor types safely, we have created a new, and potentially very effective, class of cancer therapy," says Rothman. More >>

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Fighting Cervical Cancer in Vermont

Fighting Cervical Cancer in Vermont


South Burlington, Vermont - October 14, 2007

One of the keys to fighting cancer is to keep a healthy lifestyle and get plenty of exercise. And that's what a group of students at the University of Vermont did on Sunday to raise awareness about cervical cancer. They took part in a 5 kilometer run as a way to raise money through pledges.

Unlike most cancers, research has turned up a cause of virtually all cervical cancer. It's the Human Papilloma Virus, or HPV. Allison Hicks contracted the disease and started a foundation -- the Hicks Foundation. Hicks herself beat the cancer, at least for now. "Yes, I'm a cancer survivor," she said. "But the weight of living with the disease presently coming back, or all of the associated costs afterwards, I'm definitely compromised a lot of ways in my health."

Hicks says an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. With help from the Sigma Phi Fraternity at the University of Vermont, she's getting the word out about HPV and cervical cancer. The virus is transmitted through sexual contact. Men can be carriers but there are no symptoms in men. Fortunately, women can get a pap smear to test for HPV and now there's a vaccination.

John Rawley of Sigma Phi said, "Just through education, if people are aware of the dangers that something like HPV, the different things that it causes. It makes sense to get the vaccination and Allison Hicks and her foundation help to provide that vaccination and the education to do that."

The UVM students have taken it upon themselves to raise awareness about HPV and its link to cervical cancer.

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