FDA approves HPV vaccine for people up to 45 (Washington Post)
Read the full article by Laurie McGinley at washingtonpost.com
The Food and Drug Administration expanded its approval of the HPV vaccine to include men and women between 27 and 45, an effort to protect more people from several types of cancer caused by the human papillomavirus.
The vaccine, called Gardasil 9, previously was approved for people ages 9 through 26. The vaccine is typically given in two doses several months apart for those who are 9 through 14, and in three doses for individuals 15 through 26. For those older than 26, the recommended regimen will be three doses.
Most sexually active individuals in the United States will become infected with HPV in their lifetimes. In most cases, the virus is cleared by the body’s immune system, but when that doesn’t occur, HPV infections can lead to cervical, anal, vaginal, penile and throat cancers....
The agency said it based its expanded age approval on data on the original Gardasil vaccine involving 3,200 women ages 27 through 45. The data, and long-term follow-up, showed that Gardasil was effective in preventing persistent infection, genital warts, various precancerous lesions and cancers related to HPV types covered by the vaccine. The FDA said the effectiveness for men was inferred based on the data for women, a small trial for men ages 27 through 45 and the experience of younger males.
