HPV vaccine works for boys: Study shows first clear benefits.(Report)

The vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV) can prevent 90 percent of genital warts in men when offered before exposure to the four HPV strains covered by the vaccine, according to a new multi-center study led by H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and UCSF (see also Vaccines).

The four-year, international clinical trial, which also found a nearly 66 percent effectiveness in the general population of young men regardless of prior exposure to these strains, provides the first reported results of using the HPV vaccine as a prophylactic in men.

Initial data from this study informed the Food and Drug Administration's decision to approve the vaccine for boys in 2009 to prevent …