HPV related to Oral cancer in men- Study

A recent study has found that the Human Papillomavirus or HPV which had earlier been known for causing cervical cancer in women is also responsible for oral cancer in men.

According to the new study, the virus causes cancers of the mouth and upper throat which is probably because of an increase in oral sex and the decline in smoking. Some researchers think that even unwashed hands can spread it to the mouth.

The sexually transmitted virus is the leading cause of cervical cancer in women and can also cause genital warts, penile and anal cancer risks for males. But these cases are generally too less, thus they don’t get much attention.

The database for the new study was collected from National Cancer Institute. There were 46,000 cases on oral cancers which were reported over span of 30 years i.e. 1973 to 2004 and were categorized into those caused by HPV and those not connected to the virus.

The researchers concluded that the rates for HPV-related oral cancers rose steadily in men from, becoming about as common as those from tobacco and alcohol.

"We need to start having a discussion about those cancers other than cervical cancer that may be affected in a positive way by the vaccine," said Dr. Maura Gillison of Johns Hopkins University who is the study co-author.

"If current trends continue, within the next 10 years there may be more oral cancers in the United States caused by HPV than tobacco or alcohol," he added.

The vaccine available for this virus has just been approved for women as they were the ones who were reportedly affected by this virus. But now when the new research has found a link between oral cancers in men and this virus, Merck & Co. Inc., the producer of the vaccine is thinking of applying for the FDA approval to give shots to boys as well.

"We are continuing to consider additional areas of study that focus on both female and male HPV diseases and cancers," Kelley Dougherty, a Merck spokeswoman said.

In a similar research, researchers at Penn State University scientists found that cigarette smoke may aggravate HPV and raise the risk of cervical cancer.

In the last few years, HPV is the fastest growing sexually transmitted disease in U.S. It is worth noting that cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related death in women in developing countries.

According to the American Cancer Society, around 11,150 new cases and 3,670 deaths were reported even in U.S. from cervical cancer in 2007. Developing countries might even have a graver situation. So, necessary steps should be taken as soon as possible to control its spread.