Girls should get the new vaccine for human papilloma virus (HPV) at age 11-12, the American Cancer Society says in new guidelines issued Friday.
HPV is a very common virus. Some types of HPV are sexually transmitted, and these can cause cervical cancer and other types of cancer, as well as genital warts.
The vaccine currently available, called Gardasil, protects against 2 types of HPV that cause about 70% of cervical cancers, and 2 other types that cause 90% of genital warts. It is given as a series of 3 shots over the course of 6 months. Other HPV vaccines are also being tested.
But screening will still be an important part of cervical cancer prevention, even in people who have been vaccinated, the guidelines say. They are published in the latest issue of the ACS journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.