The US FDA advisory panel recommended Thursday that the agency approve a new vaccine that prevents cervical cancer caused by a sexually transmitted virus.(file photo)

    BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhuanet) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended Thursday that the agency approve a new vaccine that prevents cervical cancer caused by a sexually transmitted virus.

    Gardasil, made by Merck & Co., is the first vaccine specifically designed to prevent cancer, said Carolyn Runowicz, president of the American Cancer Society. 

    The FDA usually follows the recommendations of its advisory panels. It is expected to approve the vaccine in early June.

    The medical community considers this event a major advance for women's health, believing the vaccine could help save the lives of tens of thousands of women worldwide.

    "This gives us the tools to begin to wipe out cervical cancer not only in the U.S. but across the globe," said Dr. Yvonne Collins, assistant professor of gynecologic oncology at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

    The vaccine targets four strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV), of which two are responsible for 70 percent of cervical cancer cases in the U.S. and across the world. Most HPV infections clear up on their own. Those that linger are most likely to develop into cancer. 

    The US drug company Merck will make Gardasil available upon FDA's final decision on the vaccine, according to the drug company. 

    Pap smears will remain a critical tool in the battle against cervical cancer, because 30 percent of these cancers won't be prevented by Gardasil. That's because the vaccine singles out only four of more than 30 sexually transmitted strains of HPV.

    "Adult women will want to continue getting these tests, which remain an extraordinarily valuable way to detect this disease early on," said Schink of Northwestern.Enditem

    (Agencies)