In the Tell Me More program by Michele Martin today, there was certainly general agreement that much more public education needs to be done with respect to HPV and cancer.

I would like to address two issues that were raised during the discussion. The first is WHETHER the current HPV vaccine offered by Merck will only last 5 years and, if we start immunizing girls at age 11, WHETHER these girls will no longer be protected against HPV infection when they become sexually active. The fact is that today girls and boys are sexually active at early ages, with approximately 20 percent having had sex as high school freshman (about age 14) and approximately 60% by their senior year. If we are to protect against these infections and subsequent cancer, we obviously need to start prior to high school. The current data on antibody titers induced by the vaccine indicates that there is a good response AT LEAST for 5 years. This does not mean that the vaccine is ineffective after that time. In fact, it is anticipated that the immune response will last much longer, but the data are not complete. As mentioned in the program, in animal models that were used to develop the HPV vaccine, vaccination against papillomavirus appears to be very long-lasting (a life-time). However, even if the vaccine efficacy dropped unexpectedly after a decade, another booster shot could be offered.

The second issue concerns mandatory vaccination. It has been stated that the safety of the vaccine has not been verified sufficiently to begin mandating its use. Certainly the extensive trials that have been performed to date and analyzed by the FDA indicate that the vaccine has very few side effects, similar to other mandated childhood vaccines. It is true that this information is based upon many thousands of vaccinated girls rather than millions. However, with the rapid acceptance and use of the vaccine, these numbers are rapidly expanding and new data will be available soon. It takes considerable time to leap the administrative issues for mandating a vaccine and the time to consider this option is now.

As briefly discussed, the HPV vaccine will have important benefits for boys as well as girls. The role of HPV in oropharyngeal cancers (about 11,000 per year) and anal cancers (about 4-5,000 per year) occurs in both males and females and we will hopefully observe significant decreases in these cancers after HPV vaccination becomes widespread.

Sent by Dr. Schlegel | 3:32 PM ET | 05-11-2007

I strongly believe that given complete, honest information about diseases and vaccines, parents and individuals can make appropriate choices.

The HPV throat cancer study provides additional information for consideration when making a personal decision about vaccine use, however it does not override the concerns about the long-term safety and effectiveness of the vaccine itself. Disclaimers printed on the manufacturer's package insert state that the vaccine has not been tested for it's own ability to cause cancer [1] and the effect on a woman's reproductive capacity is unknown. [2] Additionally the vaccine is genetically engineered yet the manufacturer admits it has not tested the vaccine for genotoxicity [1] (testing to see if the vaccine is toxic to our own human DNA). It is also important to note that the clinical studies so far have looked at effectiveness with regard to cervical infection with HPV, not oral, and that more than 90% of the cervical infections clear on their own without treatment.

Mandated use of this vaccine will only ensure a larger study group for Merck. There is no proof or guarantee of cancer prevention, and the duration of any protection provided against the 4 HPV strains it targets is unknown. [3] There are also unanswered questions about the effect this vaccine will have on the prevalence of the remaining strains of HPV that also cause cervical cancer. If they fill the void created by the vaccine, there will be no benefit, and possibly greater harm if one or more of these additional strains proves to cause a more persistent infection.

[1] Gardasil Package Insert 2006, Page 8, Paragraph 17. http//www.fda.gov/cber/lable/hpvmer060806LB.pdf

[2] Gardasil Package Insert 2006, Page 9, Paragraph 1. http://www.fda.gov/cber/lable/hpvmer060806LB.pdf

[3] Gardasil Package Insert 2006, Page 5, Paragraph 6. http://www.fda.gov/cber/lable/hpvmer060806LB.pdf

Sent by Rebecca Rex, Co-Founder PROVE | 3:35 PM ET | 05-11-2007

Honey comes from bees? I mean I know they make it, but I make pancakes but they don't COME from me. So honey actually comes from the bees? I don't get it. (I know I should.) Which makes me think of the birds and the bees and the culture coach thing.

Looks like I'm going down that long slide to love. (I'm the man who's dating the woman from Japan.) Strangely - or perhaps not so strange - the bump we're running into isn't one dealing with our cultures, but heartbreak. She invested deeply in her last relationship and it ended and now she's gunshy - wondering whether love can last - though she continues to open up. She can swing from joyful immersion in our togetherness to great caution - the latter often following on the heels of the former.

There should be a line from a poem I could quote here about love. Maybe this one from Robert Frost's "Birches": "Earth's the right place for love:/I don't know where it's likely to go better." So here and now is where it's most likely to take place, this love. We'll see. Her suggestion for tonight: Alexandria: dinner, ice cream, taking a walk.

"Earth's the right place for love:/I don't know where it's likely to go better."

Sent by Stanley (Samuel) | 3:51 PM ET | 05-11-2007

I enjoy your show. I was both amused and annoyed by the segment about the Ken Burns WWII film. Angelo Falcon raised issues about the failure of the film to include the Latino perpective. I am sure if the service records of the Latino soldiers to whom he is referring were pulled, most inductees would have checked race as "white." It has only been recently that Latino people have attempted to distiguish themselves. I am amazed at how actor Jimmy Smits and others now roll their R's and speak with an accent. Back in the day, they forbid their children to speak Spanish, anglicized their names (Geraldo Rivera a.k.a. Jerry Rivers) and they have always mocked, despised and discriminated against Black people in order to curry favor with the White ruling class. In truth, the records probably don't reflect that American Lations were in WWII in any significant numbers. Falcoln and his group are probably steamed because I am sure the Tuskegee Airmen got honorable mention.

Sent by Natural Remnant | 6:44 AM ET | 05-22-2007