Take part in a HPV vaccine trial

[pfctdayelise.livejournal.com]

Hello all,

At the moment a trial of a vaccine for HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) is taking place, known as the Patricia Trial. HPV is an STI that is very common and some strains, when left untreated, can cause cervical cancer. In fact two strains of HPV (16 and 18) cause about 70% of all cervical cancer. The vaccine is against these two strains.

The study is being conducted all over the world, with over 13,000 women in many different countries.

From the website of Melbourne's Royal Women's Hospital, which is taking part: "Participants will be randomised to the trial and receive either three doses of the HPV vaccine or three doses of Hepatitis A vaccine. They will be required to visit the research centre 10 times over the four years of the trial, and have a number of blood tests, an annual gynaecological examination, and Pap smear taken every 6 months."

So if you like, think of this as FREE HEALTH CARE! :)

I rang up to volunteer and the people at both centres were very nice and keen for volunteers. However I had a Hep A vaccine before I went travelling a couple of years ago... so I'm ineligible.

Also you have to be 15 to 25.

FREE HEALTH CARE aside, you will also get to bask in that warm fuzzy feeling, knowing that contributing to finding a vaccine for cervical cancer, thus hopefully saving the lives of thousands of women every year who would otherwise die from it. ***fuzzy fuzzy fuzzy***

So there's FREE HEALTH CARE, warm fuzziness, and possible Nobel Peace Prize nominations. Please consider signing up!

To find out more about it or sign up, try doing a Google search for "patricia hpv vaccine" + the name of your country/city. More than 90 sites worldwide are taking part.

Thank you!

[ETA] How can you find out if your city is taking part?
Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a simple list of sites online anywhere.
The trial is being run by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Try getting their contact details for your country and giving them a call.
Or ring your local sexual health service/centre and ask them if they know anything about it.

Comments

[paix.livejournal.com]

since you seem to know a lot about HPV, i've had a question i've been meaning to ask for a long time. most websites say that a large majority of cervical cancer is caused by HPV. are there cases of cervical cancer NOT caused by HPV? in these cases, what are the causes? thanks so much if you know the answer to these questions!

[paix.livejournal.com]

i just did some research and i came across this:

"Although it is necessary to have had HPV for cervical cancer to develop, most women with this virus do not develop cancer." i wonder how true this is.

[moochar.livejournal.com]

I found something different in my human sexuality text books, according to them "about 95% of the cases of cervical cancer is caused by HPV." That would me not all cases are caused by HPV. I'll try to find something online if you'd like.

[feckalyn.livejournal.com]

They probably mean that because there are over a 100 different variants of the HPV virus and only a few of them are actually associated with cervical cancer that most people with HPV don't have the strain that causes cancer.

[feckalyn.livejournal.com]

What causes cervical cancer?

The exact cause of cervical cancer is not known, but certain things appear to increase the risk.

Human papilloma virus (HPV)
Specific types of the human papilloma virus (the same virus that causes genital warts) are linked with 95% of cases of cervical cancer. HPV is passed on through sex and usually causes no symptoms at all.

Sexual behaviour
Starting to have sex at an early age may expose the cervix to HPV at an especially susceptible time. Plus, the more sexual partners a woman has, the greater the risk of getting HPV.

The pill
The contraceptive pill may increase the risk of cervical cancer because barrier methods such as condoms, which give some protection from HPV, are less likely to be used.

Unhealthy lifestyle
Women who smoke are more likely to be affected than non-smokers, and, as with most cancers, it’s thought that diet can affect the risk. A healthy diet is recommended, including fruit, vegetables, fibre-rich and starchy foods.

Immune deficiency
A weakened immune system increases the risk. Causes of immune deficiency include autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

History of abnormal cells
If abnormal cells (dyskaryosis) have previously been found on the cervix, women are at a higher risk.

However, many women who have cervical cancer do not appear to have any of these risk factors.

from http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/cervical_cancer.html

[aechei.livejournal.com]

i tried, but could not find any info on trials running in new hampshire. if anyone finds any (or some in western mass, since i go to school there), comment back.

if only there were a database of all current clinical trials that could be searched by potential participants......is there?

if you know of one....well, you know what to do.

[neko-san.livejournal.com]

http://clinicaltrials.gov/
http://www.centerwatch.com/

[mays-rays.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's really cool. I'd love to be a volunteer in this trial, but it doesn't look like there's a clinic in my city that's participating.

Thanks for the heads-up!

Oh ya know what? Would they even accept people who currently have HPV? If so I wouldn't qualify anyway. :(

[pfctdayelise.livejournal.com]

yeah... I didn't ask that, but I think they'd check for HPV in the first checkup, and exclude you then if you had it.
or maybe if you had different strains of HPV you could still try... I dunno.
I was quite sad that they excluded me as I have had a hep A vaccine! D'oh.

[mangofandango.livejournal.com]

In the HPV vaccine study I was involved in last year, they did not accept people who already have HPV. But it was a slightly different study, so things could be different. If you find a trial near you, you could always call and ask!

[mays-rays.livejournal.com]

For anyone in the Orange County, CA, area that's interested in participating, the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (http://www.ucihs.uci.edu/cancer/index.html?top.html&menu.html&clinicalTrials/cervical.html) at UC Irvine is looking for volunteers. Unfortunately, that would be a 3-hour drive for me, one way, not including traffic...

[mays-rays.livejournal.com]

Oh cool! They actually want people with HPV to volunteer. Here's a good article which includes info on the vaccine trial and some stats on HPV in general: http://today.uci.edu/news/release_detail.asp?key=1219

[pfctdayelise.livejournal.com]

I think that might actually be a different, but similar trial. (It isn't called "Patricia", it's only against HPV 16, and they want a different age range of women.)

[sooz.livejournal.com]

csulb is doing it toooo!

[fooltothink.livejournal.com]

How can I find out if they have a center in Phx, Az?

[lonestaryella03.livejournal.com]

Houston, Tx?? I'd like to find one in Houston, but I'm havin trouble findin the study...Any help?? Anyone??

[anwyn18.livejournal.com]

For anyone in Australia, there is a hotline number to call;
1800 222 707
It's running in Sydney, Perth, Hobart, Melbourne, and Adelaide. Seems mighty peculiar to me that Brisbane and Darwin are the only state captials not taking part but *shrug*. Who knows. Bummer that I can't help though.