The FDA has moved one step closer in approving another cervical cancer vaccine, Cervarix, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. The vaccine is approved for girls/women aged 10-25 and is administered in 3 doses (0, 1 month and 6 months).

Tested in 12 countries on over 18,000 females, it is already approved for use in Europe and Australia. Cervarix protects against HPV 16 and 18, the two types of HPV virus that are responsible for over 70& of cervical cancer.

There are over 100 types of human papilloma virus, the same virus responsible for causing warts of which around 40 cause genital warts. It is the most common form of sexually transmitted disease affecting some 6 million people in the U.S. Most cases of HPV are self-limiting, meaning that the infection spontaneously clears.

Of those that cause genital warts, HPV 16/18 cause 70% of cervical cancers. The following link provides more information about HPV.