John fk thanks for being you ! I hope others follow suit .
I didn't realize the government didn't include men in vaccinations .!!...i found this an interesting read
Originally published Saturday, February 2, 2008 at 12:00 AM
HPV gains as source of oral cancer in men, study finds
The sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer in women is poised to become one of the leading causes of oral cancer in men...
By MIKE STOBBE
The Associated Press
ATLANTA — The sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer in women is poised to become one of the leading causes of oral cancer in men, according to a new study.
The human papillomavirus (HPV) now causes as many cancers of the upper throat as tobacco and alcohol, probably due to an increase in oral sex and the decline in smoking, researchers said.
The only available vaccine against HPV, made by Merck, is given only to girls and young women. But Merck plans this year to ask government permission to offer the shot to boys.
Experts said a primary reason for male vaccinations would be to prevent men from spreading the virus and help reduce the nearly 12,000 cases of cervical cancer diagnosed in U.S. women each year. But the new study should add to the argument that there may be a direct benefit for men, too.
"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 study co-author Dr. Maura Gillison of Johns Hopkins University.
The study was published Friday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer in women. It also can cause genital warts, and penile and anal cancer, risks for males that generally don't get the same attention as cervical cancer.
Previous research by Gillison and others established HPV as a primary cause of the estimated 5,600 cancers that occur each year in the tonsils, lower tongue and upper throat.
The new study looked at more than 30 years of National Cancer Institute data on oral cancers. Researchers categorized about 46,000 cases, using a formula to divide them into those caused by HPV and those not connected to the virus.
They concluded the incidence rates for HPV-related oral cancers rose steadily in men from 1973 to 2004, becoming about as common as those from tobacco and alcohol.
The good news is that survival rates for the cancer are also increasing. That's because tumors caused by HPV respond better to chemotherapy and radiation, Gillison said.
Studies suggest oral sex is associated with HPV-relationship .
Merck's vaccine, approved for girls in 2006, is a three-dose series priced at about $360(USA). It is designed to protect against four types of HPV, including one associated with oral cancer.
Government officials and the American Cancer Society said they don't know whether Merck's vaccine will be successful at preventing disease in men. The company is testing that in an international study.
Indeed, it's not clear that the vaccine even prevents the HPV infection in males, let alone cancer or any other illness, said Debbie Saslow of the American Cancer Society.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
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Saying Yes to the HPV Vaccine
l sex can get most men's attention. The topic becomes considerably more relevant, however, when coupled with a new study linking the human papillomavirus (HPV) to an increased risk of a kind of oral cancer more often seen in men.
The study, which appears in this week's New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), shows that men and women who reported having six or more oral-sex partners during their lifetime had a nearly ninefold increased risk of developing cancer of the tonsils or at the base of the tongue. Of the 300 study participants, those infected with HPV were also 32 times more likely to develop this type of oral cancer than those who did not have the virus. These findings dwarf the increased risk of developing this so-called oropharyngeal cancer associated with the two major risk factors: smoking (3 times greater) or drinking (2.5 times greater). HPV infection drives cancerous growth, as it is widely understood to do in the cervix. But unlike cervical cancer, this type of oral cancer is more prevalent in men.
HPV is ubiquitous. Of the 120 strains isolated from humans — about 40 of which are in the mouth and genital tracts — Merck's recently FDA-approved vaccine, Gardasil, protects against four: HPV-6 and HPV-11, which cause warts; and HPV-16 and HPV-18, which cause about 70% of cervical cancers. Similarly, according to the study, HPV-16 was present in 72 of the 100 cancer patients enrolled in the study. Between 12,000 and 15,000 new cases of oropharyngeal cancer are diagnosed each year, and about 3,000 people die from it. "It is a significant health issue," says Dr. Robert Haddad, clinical director of the Head and Neck Oncology Program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Haddad says that
public awareness of the HPV virus needs to be just like that of HIV because the virus causes multiple types of cancer.
The study's findings bring to light a part of the debate over HPV vaccination and treatment that is often overlooked: the elevated risks of cancer that being HPV-positive has for men. According to Johns Hopkins' researcher Dr. Maura Gillison, who worked on the study: "When you look at the cancers associated with HPV in men — including penile cancer, anal squamous cell carcinoma, oral cancers — it's very close to the number of cases of cervical cancer that occur in the U.S. in women every year. We need to adjust the public's perception... that only women are at risk."
In his practice, Haddad has seen an increase in the number of younger people developing this cancer, people in their 30s and 40s. He attributes it in part to a "change in sexual behavior over the last decade." He says:
"The idea that oral sex is risk-free is not correct. It comes with significant risks, and developing cancer is one of them."
Gardasil has become a vaccine rock star, but vaccines to fight HPV are still in their infancy. Another study in this week's NEJM points out that while the preventative vaccine works 98% of the time to protect girls not yet infected with HPV-16 and HPV-18, the vaccine is only 17% effective against cancer precursors overall. These findings could undercut the argument ensuing in more than 15 states to make the vaccine mandatory for young girls.
Gardasil and some vaccines in clinical trial are preventative, but drug companies such as MGI Pharma are studying therapeutic vaccines to treat those already infected with the virus. "We need to come up with better vaccines — and we need to study them in men," says Haddad. Gardasil has not been tested against oral HPV, but Dr. Douglas Lowy, laboratory chief at the National Cancer Institute, says that there is every reason to think that, in principle, "the vaccine should be able to have an impact on oral cancers attributable to HPV." Lowy says that the next studies might start with a look at the rate of acquisition of oral HPV in those who are vaccinated and those who aren't.
"There's no question that the debate needs to go further than where it is now," says Haddad. "
Men are carriers and that is one way of transmitting this virus." It is possible to transmit an STD from the mouth to the genitals. Both gonorrhea and herpes are sexually transmitted diseases that can be transferred from the mouth to the genitals via oral sex. For example, herpes sores on the mouth can come into contact with the penis during oral sex, and this contact could result in the male’s contracting genital herpes. Several STDs can be transferred not only through semen or vaginal secretions, but also through saliva. For these reasons, it is important to always be safe when engaging in oral sex. If you have any doubts about your partner’s prior sexual history, be sure to use a condom or other barrier methods to protect yourself from contracting an STD.
Read more:
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1619814,00.html#ixzz0X1D9A8J5
I never used a dental dam on who i CHOSE to let do daty in the past (now u know why YMMV was invented !) until i kept hearing about this HPV ..I wish we all could do 69s daily as many times as we wish be disease free .Unfortunately we are now getting better educated on the virus .Hey i'm on your side !!!..... .This is not to target this industry ....due to the fact single people are more careless then pros !!!!!!! I'm just saying it sucks !!!!! no pun intended .What alarms me is how nieve some woman are when they try convincing me they are in the right and they are 100% proteected from a bbbj ..Yes HIV is very low risk performing oral but even that is a possibility .The message is keep up to date on check ups when your an active sport .It can't hurt you !it can only help you ! Pass it on
