Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s decision to require all pre-teen girls to be vaccinated against the human papilloma virus (HPV) that is one cause for cervical cancer has drawn fire from conservative political groups, parents and consumer advocates.

HPV is a sexually transmitted virus and requiring 11-year-olds to be vaccinated the same way they get shots for measles and other diseases is jarring. Add to that the political intrigue: It turns out that Mr. Perry’s former chief of staff is a lobbyist for Merck & Co., the only manufacturer of the drug that has been shown to prevent the virus — Gardasil.

Do pre-teen girls to have this vaccine promote premarital sex?

Conservative groups think inoculating little girls against sexually transmitted disease is a tacit acceptance — or encouragement — of immoral behavior. But right-wingers aren’t the only ones concerned.

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The new drug exemestane for breast cancer treatment could improve survival rates by 17 percent, new research shows.

A study of 4,742 post-menopausal women found that switching from the present gold-standard breast cancer treatment tamoxifen to the new drug exemestane after two or three years resulted in a dramatic fall in death rates, The Times newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The new drug, sold under the brand name Aromasin, is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence as an alternative to tamoxifen after two to three years, according to the report.

The study followed the progress of women treated for a total of five years and monitored for a further three years, and women assigned randomly to a full five years of tamoxifen, or treatment with tamoxifen followed by exemestane.

The researchers said that giving women tamoxifen after surgery already reduced the risk of dying by 33 percent, and after another two to three years of exemestane, and with a further three years of post-treatment follow-up, survival was found to be significantly improved with the risk of dying 50 percent lower than if they had received no drug therapy.

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