Parents urged to vaccinate daughters

The Malta Cancer Foundation is keeping tabs on the new human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine, which could protect women from four strains of this common sexually-transmitted disease.

Although it is unlikely that the foundation would have enough funds to vaccinate Maltese girls in a bid to eradicate the virus, it is strongly considering launching an awareness campaign, foundation secretary Stephen Brincat said.

The vaccine, launched on the local market last month, protects women against HPV types 16 and 18 that account for 70 per cent of cervical cancers and HPV types six and 11, which account for 90 per cent of cases of genital warts.

Mass vaccinating all girls who have not been previously exposed to the virus would be the ideal scenario, Dr Brincat, the chairman of Boffa Hospital's Oncology Department, told The Times.

"Although the incidence of cervical cancer is currently low in Malta, changes in lifestyle and an increase in sexual activity are expected to lead to a high increase," he said. Malta National Cancer Registry figures show that 132 new cases of cervical cancer and 49 deaths were reported between 1992 and 2002.

The foundation aims to supplement the Health Department by raising funds to help cancer patients and their families.

One of the aims of its awareness campaign would be to inform parents about the importance of this vaccine.

"Parents need to understand that giving their daughter a vaccine means protecting her against cancer of the cervix."

Would he vaccinate his own daughter? Yes, Dr Brincat answers promptly.

Another big project at the forefront of the foundation's mind revolves around a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan. Dr Brincat explained that while normal imaging machines - like X-Rays, MRI and CT scanners - look at the body's anatomy, a PET scan looks at how tissues are functioning, making it extremely useful for cancer patients.

"Sometimes we treat tumours and the mass shrivels, but we do not know if the cells are dead or alive. A PET scan would allow us to do away with a lot of unnecessary treatment," he said.

The scanner costs about Lm600,000, but more prohibitive is the cost of running it. Dr Brincat explained that a PET scan uses radio isotopes, which are injected into the patient and which have a shelf life of a mere 12 hours. He pointed out that this needs to either be produced locally in a cyclotrone - which costs about Lm2 million - or flown in and used immediately.

The foundation is looking at all the possibilities of including such scanning in cancer treatment, even if this means flying patients to hospitals abroad to have this done. He pointed out that there have been patients who finance such a test.

The foundation has raised about Lm200,000 over the past seven years. Although a number of volunteers man the fund-raising side of the foundation, Oncology Department staff decide on where the money goes. The foundation has partly funded a CT simulator to the tune of Lm91,000 which will allow for more precise radio therapy treatment, and was recently installed at Boffa Hospital. It has also funded the refurbishment of the oncology wards and the chemotherapy day ward. It has also contributed to numerous items of equipment essential for the delivery of chemotherapy and palliative care in the wards.

Dr Brincat thanked the public who has been very supportive of the foundation.

"Cancer is a very common problem and I doubt whether there is a single family which has not come face-to-face with cancer at some point," he said.