A prophylactic quadrivalent vaccine for the prevention of infection and disease related to HPV-6, -11, -16 and -18

Human papillomavirus infection causes cervical cancer, a significant portion of anal, genital and oropharyngeal cancers, genital warts and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. In June 2006, a quadrivalent human papillomavirus-6/11/16/18 vaccine (GARDASIL/SILGARD (R); Merck, NJ, USA) was licensed in the USA; subsequent approval has been granted in the EU (September 2006). It has since been approved in 121 countries with over 74 million doses distributed globally as of March 2011.