DIGE Digene Corp (MM)

GAITHERSBURG, Md., March 29 /PRNewswire/ -- In a new guidance issued this month, the American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) calls for a comprehensive approach to cervical cancer prevention that includes both HPV vaccination and HPV testing, Digene Corp. (NASDAQ:DIGE) announced today. The association is among the first to issue updated recommendations that take a holistic approach to cervical cancer prevention, emphasizing both vaccination for prevention and HPV testing for identifying women at risk. The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the cause of cervical cancer, and Digene manufactures and markets the Digene(R) HPV test, the only FDA-approved test for high-risk types of the virus. "The landscape of cervical cancer prevention is changing," Susan Ivey, MD, president of the American Medical Women's Association, said in the organization's announcement. "The Pap test has helped to significantly reduce cervical cancer rates in our country in the last 60 years, and has been improved by liquid-based technologies. However, we now have additional tools, such as an HPV test and an HPV vaccine, to help detect and prevent cervical cancer. We need to make sure that all women can benefit from these new tools. We encourage clinicians to offer these new technologies, women to ask for them and insurers to cover them." Douglas White, Digene's senior vice president of sales and marketing for the Americas and Asia-Pacific, called the new AMWA guidance "the latest evidence of the growing recognition by the medical community that the fight to eliminate cervical cancer requires a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach. Depending on their age, women need a combination of preventive tools, including the HPV test, to most effectively identify those women who may be at risk." The first HPV vaccine was recently approved for girls and young women age 9-26, and can protect them against two types of the virus that cause 70 percent of cervical cancers. However, since the vaccine's protection is incomplete, regular screening is required as well. Current guidelines call for Pap testing to begin three years after a female becomes sexually active or at age 21, whichever comes first. In addition, since the Pap is a subjective test that may produce false results, leading medical organizations such as AMWA are now recommending that women age 30 and older -- who are most at risk of cervical cancer -- be tested for HPV as well. In studies involving more than 40,000 women and published in a variety of peer-reviewed publications, the combination of the Pap and the Digene HPV test was found to be significantly more sensitive in identifying women with pre-cancerous cervical disease or cancer than Pap testing alone. To date, millions women have been tested for the HPV virus using the Digene HPV test. About Digene A leader in molecular diagnostics, Digene develops, manufactures and markets proprietary DNA and RNA tests, with a focus on women's health. The company's flagship product, the Digene(R) HPV test, is the only FDA-approved and CE-marked test for the human papillomavirus (HPV), the cause of essentially all cervical cancers. Digene's product portfolio also includes tests for the detection of other sexually transmitted infections, including chlamydia and gonorrhea. Digene tests are marketed in more than 40 countries worldwide. Headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD, Digene is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol DIGE. For more information, visit http://www.digene.com/ and http://www.thehpvtest.com/. DATASOURCE: Digene Corporation CONTACT: Albert Fleury, Investor Relations, +1-301-944-7000, Pam Rasmussen, Media, +1-301-944-7196, both for Digene Corporation Web site: http://www.digene.com/ http://www.thehpvtest.com/

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