More proof that we need extended studies before blanket recommendations are made for targeting the entire population rather than “high risk” (in this case most likely to benefit) group.

A new study suggests that giving Merck & Co.’s cervical-cancer vaccine Gardasil to women through their mid-20s may not be worth the price, despite U.S. recommendations that this age group receive the costly shot.

The study, published online Wednesday by The New England Journal of Medicine, comes as Merck already is having difficulty persuading college-age and older women to get the vaccine, which was introduced in 2006 and costs about $360 for a three-dose regimen. This has contributed to a slowdown in Gardasil sales, casting a cloud on Merck’s financial outlook.

Study Questions Cost-Effectiveness Of Gardasil Cervical-Cancer Vaccine - WSJ.com

Interesting….

When scientists at Stanford University looked around for a good way to grow a cancer vaccine, they realized they could do no better than the plant that has caused more cancers than you can count. They were not trying to develop a cancer vaccine such as Gardasil, which gives the body immunity against an infectious agent (in this case, the papillomavirus) that can trigger cancer (in this case, cervical). That’s all well and good, but the true grail is a therapeutic vaccine, one that would prompt the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells and only cancer cells, or that would consist of antibodies that do so.

Reference: Lab Notes : Tapping Tobacco to Cure Cancer, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences