[Mamzelle]

It also prevents most genital warts that are not Herpes. It is not a cancer vaccine, actually--it is a vaccine for a sexually transmitted VIRUS. That means, once you have the virus, you can't get rid of it. You can get rid of syphillis and gonorhea with antibiotics. HPV is like AIDS, though not so deadly--you can't get rid of it, only treat it.

This virus is already very widespread in the adult population. The only hope of controlling the virus is to vaccinate the young before they become sexually active.

The "cancer" angle was a way to avoid the STD stigma--

[kinoxi]

No vaccines are cures to my knowledge. They are preventative measures.