WHAT:

Cervical cancer is a major killer of women worldwide, with a mortality toll almost equal to that of breast cancer. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the cause of most cervical cancer. On March 11, UAB will begin recruiting young women to test an HPV vaccine that has been highly successful in earlier trials.

WHEN:

Tuesday, March 11, 2003
10 a.m.

WHERE:

Medical Towers Building
Room 634
1717 11th Avenue South
Birmingham, AL

WHO:

Dr. Sharmila Makhija
Assistant Professor, Gynecology/Oncology

BACKGROUND:

A study published in November 2002 showed that women who received a version of the vaccine became infected by a strain of HPV lead to about half of all cervical cancer, while many of those who received a placebo did become infected by that strain. The vaccine to be tested at UAB and other institutions will include several strains of HPV in hopes of eliminating at least 85 percent of all cervical cancer. If the finding holds up in this current test of the vaccine, it would be the first human vaccine whose specific purpose is to prevent cancer.

HPV cause a painless infection of the cervix, the entrance to the womb. It occurs in about half of American women during their lives. While less than 1% of these women go on to develop cervical cancer, nearly all cervical cancers that do occur are the result of HPV infection.

UAB’s gynecology/oncology faculty are the only board-certified/eligible physicians in Alabama.