Protection against uterine cervical cancer by HPV vaccines

Abstract

Research literature has definitively shown HPV to be a necessary cause of cervical cancer. HPV is highly prevalent in sexually active populations and its natural history is now traceable thanks to recent advances in technology. HPV-like particle can now be synthesized and assembled in vitro to constitute the major virion protein L1, and this technology has been exploited to produce HPV-L1-VLP vaccines. Now, HPV-related diseases can thus be prevented by commercially available HPV prophylactic vaccines such as Gardasil (recombinant HPV genotype 6/11/16/18) and Cervarix (recombinant HPV genotype 16/18). These advances have dramatically changed the administration of cervical cancer screening programs.