UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center Magazine Spring 2016 | Page 7

clinical update

Cancer Center Joins
Endorsement of
HPV Vaccine
By BEENA THANNICK AL

“There is no
question that
the vaccine
works. We now
have a secondgeneration
vaccine that
protects against
90 percent of
the HPV that are
associated with
cervical cancer.”
Warner Huh, M.D.
UAB Comprehensive
Cancer Center senior
scientist and direc tor
of the UAB Division of
Gynecologic Oncology

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U A B

In response to low national vaccination rates
against the human papillomavirus, the UAB
Comprehensive Cancer Center recently joined all
69 of the nation’s top cancer centers in issuing a
statement urging for increased HPV vaccination
for the prevention of cancer.
These institutions collectively recognize
insufficient vaccination as a public health threat and
call on the nation’s physicians, parents and young
adults to take advantage of this rare opportunity
to prevent many types of cancer. National Cancer
Institute-designated cancer centers joined in this effort
in the spirit of President Barack Obama’s State of the
Union call for a national “moonshot” to cure cancer, a
collaborative effort led by Vice President Joe Biden.
“The National Cancer Institute-designated cancer
centers are at the cutting edge of cancer research,
treatment and prevention, and we now have joined
forces because of the compelling research that clearly
shows the HPV vaccine is critical in saving lives by
preventing HPV infection and its associated cancers,”
says Edward Partridge, M.D., Cancer Center director.
“We hope our collective action will educate and
motivate the public and highlight this tremendous
opportunity we have to eliminate a preventable
cancer.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, HPV infections are responsible
for approximately 27,000 new cancer diagnoses
each year in the United States. Several vaccines are
available that can prevent the majority of cervical,
anal, oropharyngeal (middle throat) and other genital
cancers.
UAB has been at the forefront of conducting
groundbreaking cancer research, especially in
developing the HPV vaccine. Warner Huh, M.D.,
director of the UAB Division of Gynecologic

C O M P R E H E N S I V E

C A N C E R

C E N T E R

WARNER HUH, M.D.

Oncology and Cancer Center senior scientist, has
tested several HPV vaccines and was one of the
first to test Gardasil, the first U.S. Food and Drug
Administration-approved vaccine for the prevention of
cervical cancer and genital warts.
“There is no question that the vaccine works,” Dr.
Huh says. “We now have a second-generation vaccine
that protects against 90 percent of the HPV that
are associated with cervical cancer. This vaccine can
literally eradicate the majority of cervical cancer, if
given widely and appropriately.”
Vaccination rates, however, remain low across the
United States, with less than 40 percent of girls and
slightly more than 21 percent of boys receiving the
recommended three doses. Research shows there are a
number of barriers to overcome to improve vaccination
rates, including a lack of strong recommendations
from physicians and parents not understanding that
this vaccine protects against several types of cancer.
“We’re really on the verge of a dramatic change
that will positively affect all individuals, particularly
women, in the United States,” says Dr. Huh. “The
real remaining issue is we need to improve vaccination
rates in this country.”

VACCINATE YOUR 11-12 YEAR OLDS.
# K N O W U A B C C C

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U A B . E D U / C A N C E R

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