(Ivanhoe Newswire) – Highly effective vaccines designed to prevent
cervical cancer are widely available in developed nations but are often too
expensive to be used in much of the world. New, simpler to manufacture, vaccines
that protect against a wider spectrum of human papillomavirus (HPV) types could
be the key to saving more lives across the world, according to a new study.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University tested an alternate vaccine, called
multimeric-L2 protein vaccine, on mice and rabbits and found that it produced
robust antibody responses against all HPV types tested. Current HPV L1-based
vaccines are almost 100 percent protective against infection by the two HPV
types that are responsible for 70 percent of all cervical cancer cases
worldwide, but the existing vaccines provide limited protection against the
other HPV types that cause cancer, researchers said.
“If an L2 vaccine were proven effective in people, its simpler manufacturing
process could make the local production of such a vaccine highly feasible, which
might achieve the goal of producing it at sustainable prices in emerging
countries and lead to its widespread implementation in the developing world,”
the authors wrote.
In an accompanying editorial, Spanish scientists praised the study's results but
cautioned that it will likely take years to evaluate the new products in
clinical trials, so the currently available vaccines should be used as widely as
possible.
SOURCE: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, published online on May 26,
2009
