Question

HPV is Human Papilloma Virus which has a capacity to cause cervical cancer, vaginal cancer, anal cancer, penile cancer etc..
A vaccine named GARDASIL is released in many countries all over the world..
So, is it good to take that vaccine in order to get rid of these mentioned cancers..??

Answer 1

@Abhisar @BioEpic @shreehari499 @Frostbite @saifoo.khan @PRAETORIAN.10

Answer 2

The prompt assumes that you were aware of the connection between viruses and cancer, are you familiar with the link between viruses and cancer?

Answer 3

The question is looking more for an opinion, not so much a definitive answer.
I'll assist you in deriving your answer to this question. So here's my opinion:

I believe that the vaccine should be administered to older teenagers and adults
under 25 who are sexually active--regardless of gender.
Males are capable of spreading HPV to their female mates without knowing
they even have it. So I'd recommend the use of Gardasil for prevention of HPV--but HPV only. With other cancers (such as anal, penile, and, in some cases, vaginal),
HPV may be a cause of some of those cancers, but it may not be involved in
other forms of the cancer. You may see a case of anal cancer that was not caused
by HPV and may not have been caused by a virus at all.

If that's the case, would a vaccine developed specifically to fight a virus work against another disease-causing agent?
Just because two disease-causing agents (e.g. bacteria and virus) cause the same disease does not mean that both can be targeted in the same way, correct? :)

Answer 4

Yes i agree to what @Miracrown said, HPV provides protection against some strains of HPV causing various above mentioned cancers (Cervical cancer being the most prominent) & Genital warts. It should be administered to individual prior of becoming sexually active. Also it should be understood clearly that Gardasil will not block infection of all the HPV types/Strains that can cause various cancers. So the best way of prevention is routine `Pap smears.`

It's not necessary (like Hepatitis B or Polio Vac) but doesn't harm either if taken as prevention.

Answer 5

I agree with what you have written, @Abhisar and can definitely tell that you have a strong grasp on the basics of public health and immunology. You understand that a vaccine is not a treatment (you would not believe how many people think this!) and that just because a vaccine has proven to work against one pathogen, that this does not mean it should be used to prevent a disease that can be caused by another type of pathogen.

Answer 6

Gardasil is highly recommended to sexually active teens even when they use contraceptive/protection such as condoms against HPV. The transfer of the said virus is usually from male to female... so choose wisely who you bang and make sure you both get tested for standard STD screening :)

Here in the United States, Gardasil was highly recommended by health officials and with the help of the media particularly in the early 2000, this became known, but there were some group of people, particularly parents, went against it for a lot of reasons (mostly coming from ignorance and religious/moral underpinnings). These days, you hardly see commercials on TV about this topic and I do not know what is the reason. Bringing up this topic have brought up some question.

With regards to pap smear, it is not a prevention, but a screening or test for cervical cancer. Cervical cancer seems to have more causes than contraction of HPV. Studies have shown that HPV does not fully explain cervical cancer and that a majority of HPV cases do not lead to cervical cancer.

what is my authority in this topic? I don't know...

Answer 7

I am just a recent Biology major graduate with focus on cancer research and bioinformatics and biotechnology.

Answer 8

thank you so much friends.... and im sorry i was not on the discussion...!!!

well i got the first dose of this vaccine GARDASIL...on 25th

but im afraid as i saw many girls have expired in 2007 - 2008 and few became mentally retarded and the parents complain it is GARDASIL effect...
im just scared i found those on youtube.com

im just tensed...!!!

Answer 9

wow all these educated replies @Abhisar @micracrwon @nincompoop

Answer 10

@miracrown

Answer 11

thank you so much friends.... and im sorry i was not on the discussion...!!!

Answer 12

I am not sure who to give the medal to...