New data demonstrates that the human paplillomavirus, or HPV, is the reason for a rise in throat and anal cancers among men and boys resulting from sexual activity. In response, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control now recommends that the HPV vaccine be given to men and boys. This recommendation is anticipated to transform the use of the vaccine as private health insurers will pay the cost if the panel recommends its use. The HPV vaccine is costly averaging $300. Pediatricians usually mark up the cost of the three doses needed for full vaccination.
Boys ages 11 and 12 should be vaccinated as well as males ages 13 through 21 who did not receive all three shots. Boys as young as age 9 can receive the vaccine.
Fifty percent of men in the United States, Mexico and Brazil carry the human papillomavirus, HPV, according to a study by researcher Anna Giuliano, Ph.D., and colleagues at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa Bay, Florida as reported in Heart and Soul magazine. That number may sound high, but of the many strains of HPV only a select few are known to cause cervical cancer.
The most common sexually transmitted disease, HPV will infect 75 to 80 percent of females and males in the United States at least once during their lifetime. The majority of the cases will be cured with no ill effects. A small minority will however, develop infections that lead to cellular changes that cause warts or cancer, including cervical, vaginal and vulva cancers in women and anal cancers in men and women. Head and neck cancers have also increased as a result of the popularity in oral sex.
