Gardasil Vaccine Now FDA Approved to Prevent Throat Cancer

On June 12, 2020, the FDA has (finally) approved an expanded indication for the Gardasil-9 vaccine for the prevention of throat and other head and neck cancers caused by the HPV virus. This vaccine was originally designed to prevent cervical cancer, but is now indicated to also prevent vulvar, vaginal, and anal cancers [ link ]. This FDA approval is long overdue given throat cancer due to the HPV virus is THE most common cause of throat cancer for young adults under 50 years of age... eve…

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HPV Vaccine May Help Clear Airway Papillomas

Papillomas on the right vocal cord HPV vaccine like gardasil can be used to help prevent not only genital warts, but also oral warts and warts of the airway. Such warts are known as papillomas and can keep recurring after surgical excision leading to lifelong morbidity. Although gardasil and other HPV vaccines are typically used to vaccinate young tweens, it has been found effective even in much older individuals. In this study , the HPV vaccine decreased the incidence of surgeries for re…

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HPV Vaccine May Help Clear Oral Warts / Papillomas

Contrary to popular belief that it may take years for the HPV vaccine to be truly effective, Texas researchers reported they were able to completely clear all oral papillomas due to the HPV virus in an adult within 3 months of vaccination. Specifically, they reported that a man in his 60s who suffered from recurrent oral papillomas in spite of multiple excisions was clear of all lesions within 3 months after receiving the quadrivalent HPV vaccine. Interestingly, this patient had HPV-32 w…

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Vaccine to Prevent Throat Cancer

Spread through oral sex, it is well established that human papilloma virus (HPV) types 16 and 18 cause the vast majority of throat cancer especially in men... even more than smoking and drinking alcohol. What was not known, but suspected, was whether in BOTH men and women the HPV vaccine Cervarix (made by GSK) or Gardasil (made by Merck) would help prevent throat cancer as effectively as cervical cancer for which it is FDA approved for. At least for the vaccine Cervarix, a randomized, co…

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WSJ: FDA Approves Gardasil for Boys (and Girls)!

This was reported by the Wall Street Journal on Oct 16, 2009. Why is this significant from an ENT perspective? Well, gardasil is supposed to vaccinate people from getting HPV related diseases like genital warts which would help both genders when individuals become sexually active. Of more note, it has been specifically shown to help prevent cervical cancer in females which is a big killer of women. However, it may potentially prevent other types of HPV related disorders involving the head…

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