Hi, everyone,

I have a close friend (an MD) who is a lab chief/head at NCI with a focus on cervical cancer. She told me that a major reason Gardisil was developed with 2 strains of HPV that can cause cervical cancer (which makes sense) and 2 strains that cause venereal warts is that the goal/hope was to eventually make this available for boys/men and that they thought it would be a tough sell for boys/men and their parents if Gardisil just protected against the cervical cancer-causing strains. In other words, boys/men would be less concerned about getting a vaccine if they did not see a direct benefit (e.g., preventing venereal warts).

Sophie T.

CG to husband: SCC Stage 4, T4, N1, M0; non-smoker and very light social drinker; HPV+
induction chemo begun 7/07; chemo/radiation ended 10/10, first cat scan clear; scan on 5/9/08 clear, scan on 10/08 clear; scan 1/09 clear; scan 1/10 clear; passed away July 2, 2016