"WhatA research paper published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases reported that the human papillomavirus HPV vaccine is safe and efficacious across a wide age range of women. The international study found that it protects against HPV infection in women older than  years. Vaccination programs worldwide currently target routine vaccination of women  years and younger. The study recruited women in  countries across four continents. Cosette Wheeler PhD at The University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center was the lead author of the report. WhyThe human papillomaviruses cause cancer of the cervix anus and middle throat. Five types of HPV account for about  percent of all invasive cervical cancer cases. HPV vaccines are expected to prevent most of these cancer cases. Many countries routinely vaccinate girls and boys  years and younger although vaccination rates in the United States remain low. In the US only about  percent of girls and  percent of boys receive the threedose vaccination series. The earlier the vaccine is given the more efficacious it can be. This study focused on the benefit of vaccinating women  years and older. Infection with HPV can take place at any time throughout adulthood and women in this age group may have already been exposed to HPV. The study showed that women in this age group were still protected from HPV infections. The scientists followed each woman for four to seven years. They found that the vaccine protected the women against HPV infections during the followup period and that the women were protected from many types of HPV across a broad age range. These study results are essential to new approaches in cancer prevention particularly those that are investigating combined approaches of cervical screening and vaccination in adult women. WhoCosette Wheeler PhD is a UNM Regents Professor in the Departments of Pathology and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. She holds the Victor and Ruby Hansen Surface Endowed Chair in Translational Medicine and Public Health. Her New Mexico research group has contributed for over  years to understanding the molecular epidemiology of human papillomaviruses HPV in cervical precancer and cancer among Native American Hispanic and nonHispanic women of the southwest and on a global basis. She has overseen a number of largescale multidisciplinary populationbased projects that have ultimately enabled advances in primary HPV vaccines and secondary cervical cancer prevention Pap and HPV tests. Dr. Wheeler has authored over  peerreviewed articles a number in top tier journals. In  Sciencewatch Thomson Reuters httpsciencewatch.comanasthpvjulHPVWheler ranked her global citation contributions over the past decade th in human papillomavirus contributions and in the top  in the field of clinical medicine. WhenThe paper Efficacy safety and immunogenicity of the human papillomavirus  ASadjuvanted vaccine in women older than  years year followup of the phase  doubleblind randomised controlled VIVIANE study was published in the June   online edition of The Lancet  Authors are Cosette M Wheeler S Rachel Skinner M Rowena Del RosarioRaymundo Suzanne M Garland Archana Chatterjee Eduardo LazcanoPonce Jorge Salmern Shelly McNeil Jack T Stapleton Cline Bouchard Mark G Martens Deborah M Money Swee Chong Quek Barbara Romanowski Carlos S Vallejos Bram ter Harmsel Vera Prilepskaya Kah Leng Fong Henry Kitchener Galina Minkina Yong Kuei Timothy Lim Tanya Stoney Nahida Chakhtoura Margaret E Cruickshank Alevtina Savicheva Daniel Pereira da Silva Murdo Ferguson Anco C Molijn Wim G V Quint Karin Hardt Dominique Descamps Pemmaraju V Suryakiran Naveen Karkada Brecht Geeraerts Gary Dubin and Frank Struyf for the VIVIANE Study Group. ContactDorothy Hornbeck JKPR  dhornbeckjameskorenchen.com Michele Sequeira UNM Cancer Center  msequeirasalud.unm.edu   About the UNM Comprehensive Cancer CenterThe University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center is the Official Cancer Center of New Mexico and the only National Cancer Institutedesignated Cancer Center in a mile radius. One of the premier cancer centers nationwide the UNM CCC has more than  boardcertified oncology physicians forming New Mexicos largest cancer care team. It treats about  percent of adults and virtually all the children in New Mexico diagnosed with cancer  more than  people from every county in the state in more than  clinic visits each year. Through its partnership with the New Mexico Cancer Care Alliance an exemplary national model for cancer health care delivery the UNM CCC offers access to more than  clinical trials to New Mexicans in every part of the state. Annual research funding of almost  million supports the UNM CCCs  cancer scientists. Working with partners at Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute and New Mexico State University they have developed new diagnostics and drugs for leukemia breast cancer ovarian cancer prostate cancer liver and pancreatic cancer brain cancer and melanoma. Learn more at  http  SEE ORIGINAL STUDY https"