HPV in Men

     Continuing off of my previous blog, this week I will be discussing human papillomavirus (HPV) and its role in males. In case you missed my previous blog, HPV is a common infection to those who are sexually active. However, most infections will go away on their own without any further problems. Getting the HPV vaccine can help prevent the onset of cervical cancer or genital warts that may occur from HPV. This vaccine is very common for teenage girls to receive, but should males be receiving this vaccine too?

     The answer is yes, but there are some considerations. According to the CDC, it is recommended that boys between the ages of 11 and 12 receive the vaccine, but boys as young as 9 and through the age of 21 can receive the vaccine. While HPV isn't cancer, it causes certain changes in the body that can lead to cancer. While cervical cancer is what we hear about most, there are cancers that can occur in males from this infection. Males can develop penile cancer if the infection doesn't go away. Both men and women can develop anal cancer and even cancer in the back of the throat, known as oropharyngeal cancer. Good news, however, is that HPV-related cancers are not very common in men even though HPV is one of the most commonly transmitted infections. Not so good news is that there are currently no approved tests for HPV in men and there are also no specific treatments for HPV. There are only treatments for the symptoms, such as genital warts.

     Most of the cancers caused by HPV can be prevented with the HPV vaccination. Approximately 63% of penile cancers are linked to HPV, along with 91% for anal cancers, and 72% for cancer of the back of the throat. So how can HPV lead to cancer? HPV is a DNA virus that contains genes which encode for biological processes that allow the virus to in the cell nucleus of its' host cell. The virus will replicate in the nucleus until cell death. At this point, the virus will then be allowed to infect other epithelial cells and eventually obtain the ability to embed itself into the DNA of the host. This gives the virus the ability to control cellular mechanisms and will mess up cell regulation. This deregulation will cause uncontrolled cell growth, which in turn causes the cancers that have been discussed. While not all HPV types have this ability, as discussed in my previous blog, there are certain cancer-causing types that could occur.

For more information from my readings here are the links:
http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/stdfact-hpv-and-men.htm
http://www.canceradvocacy.ca/reportcard/2012/Report%20Card%20on%20Cancer%20in%20Canada%202011-12.pdf#page=6 (page 6 "HPV in Men")