A vaccine that protects women against four strains of the virus which causes most cases of cervical cancer is expected to be available in the State later this year.
The vaccine, called Gardasil, has still to be approved by the European Commission but the commission is expected to grant a marketing authorisation for the product later this month or early next month. Once the authorisation is granted the company behind the new vaccine, Sanofi Pasteur, will launch it in Europe.
The vaccine is geared towards females aged nine to 26 years and is already available in a number of countries, including the US. It is administered in three doses over a six-month period and is expected to cost about €300 per patient.
GlaxoSmithKline is also working on a vaccine called Cervarix which it expects to have on the market next year, protecting against two strains of the HPV (human papilloma virus). There are about 20 strains.
The Irish Cancer Society said yesterday it welcomed the availability of vaccines that have the potential to prevent up to 70 per cent of cervical cancers caused by the HPV. "The society sees the arrival of these vaccines as a historic breakthrough for women's health," it said.
Dr Nicholas Kitchin, medical director with Sanofi Pasteur MSD in the UK and Ireland, said he could not indicate when exactly it would be available in the State. "We expect it will be licensed within the next month and we will make it available as soon as possible after that but I can't say precisely when."
Asked if there would be a long lead-in time between licensing and having sufficient stocks readily available, he said: "It shouldn't be too long because we have been anticipating the approval."
Once approved by the commission, it would not need a licence from the Irish Medicines Board.
Dr Kitchin said it was a preventive vaccine and not a treatment vaccine, so to have maximum effect it should be given to women before they come in contact with the HPV. This is usually before first sexual contact. In the US an immunisation advisory group has recommended the vaccine be given to all 12-year-old girls.
Dr Kitchin said women given the vaccine have been followed up for five years and at that stage they were still fully protected.
Sanofi Pasteur has informed the Department of Health about the results of clinical trials on the vaccine. However, no decision has been made by the department or the National Immunisation Advisory Committee on a mass vaccination programme for young women in the State.
In a statement, the department said the vaccine was an important development and indicated that its use for all women in the State would be considered.
"The department and the HSE will work with the new Cancer Screening Board the Tánaiste is setting up to assess all the issues about the extent of use of this vaccine, in the context of a screening programme and all other aspects of cancer care," it said. However, it said its first priority was to get a long-promised national cervical cancer screening programme rolled out by 2008.
The Irish Cancer Society, which would like to see a mass vaccination programme, stressed that it is vital all women aged 25 years or over have regular smear tests. "Even vaccinated women still need to be screened on a regular basis because not all cancers will be prevented by this vaccine and it remains to be seen from the clinical trials programmes how long the protective effect of these vaccines will last," it said.
About 70 women die from cervical cancer in the State every year.