Cervical cancer typically begins when certain types of the human papilloma-virus--or HPV--infect the cervix. HPV is often transmitted during intercourse and can start the growth of abnormal cells that eventually become cancerous. Researchers with the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at The University of Iowa are testing a new vaccine they hope will prevent HPV infection.

"This will be a cancer vaccine. That’s always been a big hope for medical research, that we would have a vaccine for cancer. This will really be the first vaccine designed to prevent cancer that may hit the market," says Kevin Ault, M.D., UI Health Care physician.

Ultimately, researchers hope this study leads to a usable vaccine, which would be given at an early age to prevent cervical cancer.

"Sometime on the horizon, in a few years hopefully, you can see this vaccine available in gynecologists' offices and family doctors' offices, where women get it in their early- or mid-teens before they become sexually active, to prevent getting the HPV infection," Ault says.

Women age 16 to 23 are invited to participate in this four-year trial. Over the course of the study, participants will receive three injections of either vaccine or a placebo.

For more information about this study, call The University of Iowa at 319-384-4531, and ask about the HPV vaccine trial.

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Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center