Houston Chronicle Sunday

HPV vaccine may cut oral infections, cancer risk in males

- By Marilynn Marchione

The HPV vaccine that helps prevent cervical cancer in women also might lower the risk in young men of oral infections that can cause mouth and throat cancers, a new study finds.

These cancers are rising fast, especially in men, and research suggests that HPV, the human papillomav­irus, is spreading through oral sex. Actor Michael Douglas brought attention to this risk several years ago when he blamed his cancer on it.

This is the first study of whether the vaccine might prevent oral HPV infections in young men, and the results suggest it can. No men who received at least one dose were later found to have infections of HPV strains linked to cancer, but more than 2 percent of unvaccinat­ed men had them.

“There may be additional benefits to vaccinatin­g your son or daughter” besides the problems the vaccine already is known to prevent, said Dr. Maura Gillison of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Results were released Wednesday by the American Society of Clinical Oncology ahead of its annual meeting next month.

A common virus

HPV is common — most sexually active people have been exposed to it. Some types cause genital warts. Usually, the virus causes no symptoms and goes away, but some people develop long-lasting infections of strains that can cause cancer.

The vaccine was approved in 2006 to prevent cervical cancers in women, and later for some others, including anal cancer in men. But acceptance has been slow — only about half of those eligible are getting it now, according to the latest informatio­n.

Now, awareness is growing of HPV’s other risks — oral infections are blamed for 70 percent of cancers in the mouth and back of the throat. About 11,600 of these occur each year in the U.S., and rates are rising 5 percent per year. They’re four times more common in men than women.

There are now more mouth and throat cancers caused by HPV in the U.S. each year than there are cervical cancers.

Oral sex is the main risk factor for getting an HPV infection in the mouth or throat, Gillison said. While “oral sex does not give you cancer,” the infection in rare cases can develop into cancer over many years, she explained.

Aimed at youths

The vaccines are recommende­d mostly for young people, ideally before they’re exposed to HPV.

Merck’s Gardasil is approved in the U.S. for females 9 through 26 to prevent cervical, vulvar, vaginal and anal cancers and genital warts. For males ages 9 through 26, it’s approved for preventing anal cancer and genital warts. A newer version of Gardasil that includes more HPV virus types is approved for males 9 to 15.

GlaxoSmith­Kline’s Cervarix vaccine is approved for females 9 through 25 to prevent cervical cancer.

All require two or three shots, depending on age.

Other ways to help prevent oral HPV infections are limiting the number of sex partners and not smoking. Condoms or dental dams may help.

Signs and symptoms of mouth and throat cancers may include a long-lasting sore throat, earaches, hoarseness, enlarged lymph nodes and pain when swallowing.

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