WOMEN OF THE WORLD MAY SOON HAVE PROTECTION FROM MANY STRAINS OF GYNOCOLOGICAL CANCER

New data shows a vaccine against the virus that causes cervical cancer , Gardasil, partially blocks infection by 10 strains of the virus on top of the  four types the vaccine targets. Whitehouse Station-based Merck, the maker, called it the first evidence of any vaccine providing cross-protection against other strains of the human papilloma virus, or HPV. It boosts protection -- at least partially -- to 90 percent of strains causing the deadly cancer, according to data presented . There are 9,710 new cases of cervical cancer and 3,700 deaths in the U.S. each year. Worldwide, there are nearly 500,000 new cases and 233,000 deaths a year.

Dr. Stephanie Blank, a gynecologic oncologist at the NYU Cancer Institute, said the finding could encourage more widespread use of Gardasil in developing countries, where some of the additional strains are more widespread and women rarely get Pap smears to detect early, curable cancers. There are more than 60 strains of the HPV virus. About 15 are thought to cause cervical cancer; Gardasil protects against 12 of those, plus another two that cause genital warts but not cancer.Two strains cause 70 percent of cervical cancer. Merck studies following 17,600 young women for three years found the vaccine to be 99 percent effective in blocking those strains.

Dr. Jonathan Berek, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford University School of Medicine, said he expected Gardasil to provide some protection against HPV strains not directly targeted by the vaccine, but not as much as the data shows. Roughly 2.5 million such follow-up exams and biopsies are done each year in this country, at a cost of about $320 each. Dr. Michael Segarra of North Brunswick Pediatrics said women still need to get regular Pap smears because the vaccine doesn't cover all HPV strains, but that the extended protection will reduce anxiety in years to come as fewer women get abnormal Pap test results requiring additional testing.