Gardasil
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| Vaccine description | |
|---|---|
| Target disease | human papillomavirus (Types 16, 18, 6, and 11) |
| Type | Protein subunit |
| Clinical data | |
| AHFS/Drugs.com | Monograph |
| MedlinePlus | a607016 |
| Pregnancy category |
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| Routes of administration |
Intramuscular injection |
| ATC code | |
| Legal status | |
| Legal status |
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| Identifiers | |
| ChemSpider |
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Gardasil, also known as Gardisil or Silgard or recombinant human papillomavirus vaccine [types 6, 11, 16, 18], is a vaccine for use in the prevention of certain strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), specifically HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18. HPV types 16 and 18 cause an estimated 70% of cervical cancers, and are responsible for most HPV-induced anal,vulvar, vaginal, and penile cancer cases. HPV types 6 and 11 cause an estimated 90% of genital warts cases. Though it does not treat existing infection, vaccination is still recommended for HPV positive individuals, as it may protect against one or more different strains of the disease. The HPV strains that Gardasil protects against are sexually transmitted.
The vaccine was approved in the US on June 8, 2006 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In 2008, Gardasil was approved in 41 of U.S. states. The Gardasil vaccine has also been approved in 120 other countries. The FDA recommends vaccination before adolescence and potential sexual activity.
In December 2014, the FDA approved a nine-valent Gardasil-based vaccine, Gardasil 9, to protect against infection with the strains covered by the first generation of Gardasil as well as five other HPV strains responsible for 20% of cervical cancers (HPV-31, HPV-33, HPV-45, HPV-52, and HPV-58).
Gardasil is a prophylactic HPV vaccine, meaning that it is designed to prevent HPV infections. For maximum effect, it is recommended that girls receive the vaccine prior to becoming sexually active. However, women who were already infected with one or more of the four HPV types targeted by the vaccine (6, 11, 16, or 18) were protected from clinical disease caused by the remaining HPV types in the vaccine. Common warts are caused by HPV 1, 2 and 3 and are not prevented by the administration of this vaccine.
Since Gardasil will not block infection with all of the HPV types that can cause cervical cancer, the vaccine should not be considered a substitute for routine pap smears.
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