FDA Expands Gardasil to Include Adults Up to Age 45
Posted on October 07, 2018
Source:
Medscape
The US Food and Drug Administration approved the use of a human papillomavirus vaccine called Gardasil 9 for men and women between the ages of 27 and 45. The FDA previously approved the HPV vaccine for people age 9 to 26.
Most HPV infections go away on their own, but some remain and can cause cervix, vagina and vulva cancer in women; penis cancer in men; and genital warts, anal cancer and head and neck cancers in both sexes. There are 150 viruses that make up HPV, but most are rare.
Gardasil 9 protects against the nine types of HPV that are responsible for the majority of HPV-related diseases (Types 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52 and 58). Gardasil 9 was approved by the FDA in 2014; an older version of the vaccine covered only four types and is no longer distributed in the United States, the agency said.