A large, randomized trial shows that the HPV vaccine Gardasil is more than 90 percent effective in preventing cervical cancer in women aged 24 to 45 who received all three vaccine doses, and who were not infected by the virus. While the vaccine is currently approved only for younger women, it is being considered by the FDA for use in women over age 26.

The FDA approves Gardasil, a vaccine that prevents infection with the two high-risk strains of human papillomavirus (HPV) known to cause about 70 percent of cervical cancers. The vaccine is approved for girls and young women aged 9 to 26. The approval is based on data showing the vaccine is 100 percent effective in preventing HPV16- and HPV18-related cervical pre-cancers, as well as genital warts, for at least 4.5 years following vaccination. Later the same year, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends routine HPV vaccination for girls aged 11 and 12; however, state requirements for HPV vaccinations vary. A second vaccine, Cervarix, was approved in 2009 to prevent infection against HPV16 and HPV18 in women aged 10 to 25. The cost of the three-dose regimen remains a persistent challenge to widespread HPV vaccination, with either version of the vaccine. Also in 2009, the Gardasil vaccine is approved for use in boys for the prevention of genital warts.

Gardasil is later approved to prevent additional HPV-related diseases in children and young adults aged 9 to 26, including vaginal, vulvar and anal cancers in females, and anal cancer and genital warts in males.