The University of South Alabama Physicians Group Lunch ‘N’ Learn lecture series will feature Dr. Stephen Varner, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology. His lecture, entitled “HPV Vaccine – Preventing Cervical Cancer,” will take place on Oct. 26, 2006 at 11:30 a.m. at the Infirmary West Conference Center and will provide details on the Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and its uses in preventing cervical cancer.

Varner is a member of the USA College of Medicine faculty and practices at USA’s Center for Women’s Health, specializing in gynecology, incontinence, obstetrics/gynecology with a particular interest in urogynecology.

According to the Center for Disease Control, in June 2006, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer due to HPV. This vaccine protects against four (out of more than 100) types of HPV that are responsible for 70 percent of cervical cancers and 90 percent of genital warts. It has been recommended to begin offering the vaccine to females as early as age 9 through their mid-twenties.

The National Cancer Institute states that HPVs are now recognized as the major cause of cervical cancer. In 2006, an estimated 10,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with this type of cancer and nearly 4,000 will die from it. Cervical cancer strikes nearly half a million women each year worldwide, claiming a quarter of a million lives.

The lecture and lunch is provided free of charge. Reservations are required. For more information regarding the lecture or to make reservations, please call (251) 460-6770 or email bschiavoni@usouthal.edu.