Cervical cancer jab offers greater protection

A NEW cervical cancer jab may prevent more cancers than one available in Ireland since last November.

GlaxoSmithKline’s new vaccine, called Cervarix, is expected to be approved for use in Ireland in October and, if preliminary results are borne out, it is capable of protecting women from more strains of the virus that causes the disease than Gardasil.

An international trial involving more than 18,000 women aged 15 to 25 found that while both vaccines protect against the two most common types of the human papilloma virus (HPV), Cervarix also provides lesser protection against three other types.