A prophylactic quadrivalent vaccine for the prevention of infection and disease related to HPV-6, -11, -16 and -18

Abstract

Human papillomavirus infection causes cervical cancer, a significant portion of anal, genital and oropharyngeal cancers, genital warts and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. In June 2006, a quadrivalent human papillomavirus-6/11/16/18 vaccine (GARDASIL/SILGARD®; Merck, NJ, USA) was licensed in the USA; subsequent approval has been granted in the EU (September 2006). It has since been approved in 121 countries with over 74 million doses distributed globally as of March 2011.

Keywords::

• cervical cancer
• HPV
• papillomavirus
• vaccine

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Heather Sings for assistance with research and writing of this article.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

S Vuocolo is an employee of Merck and may own stock and/or stock options in the company. SE Goldstone was a principle investigator of the Merck Gardasil trial in young men and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee for Gardasil in young men. He has received grants, consulting fees and speaker fees from Merck and Co. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.