HPV-related cancers on the rise: Report

By JERMECIA EDWARDS

While overall cancer rates continue to decline, HPV-associated cancers are on the rise among men and women, according to the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer.

The report published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute states that growth in cancer is caused by human papillomavirus and lack of prevention efforts such as immunization.

Although cancer is one of the leading causes of death and disability, death rates continue to decline for lung, colon, breast and prostate cancer. Meanwhile, HPV-related illnesses such as oropharynx, a cancer of the pharynx,  and cancer of the anus are on the rise, according to a facts and figure report at the American Cancer Society.

“There are four types of HPV that the doctors are concerned about. free run 3.0 v2 femmes Two that cause cervical cancer in women and two that causes genital warts,” said Davin Davis, a health educator at Mount Sinai Medical Center’s adolescent health center.

“Men are carriers for the two that cause cervical cancer in women and that’s why vaccines such as Gardasil are being rolled out to men now,” he said.

Based on  vaccines out now, the age range recommended for a routine HPV vaccination for men and women is from ages 9 through 26, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

High-risk HPV infection is responsible for 5 percent of all cancers world-wide such as cancers of the esophagus, anus and the oropharynx,the middle part of the throat including the soft palate, the base of the tongue and the tonsils.  Doctors say that increases result from earlier sex, more partners and engaging in oral sex.

At the same time, there is limited effort from doctors and researchers to increase vaccination coverage levels to prevent the amount of cancer deaths from increasing in the future.

“I think that some health care providers may question the efficacy of the vaccine or may work with populations who are not eligible to receive it, for example women over 26,” said Ellen Friedrichs, a human sexuality professor at Brooklyn College who said that the vaccine is not being promoted enough.

Pap and HPV testing has contributed to the declines in cervical cancer rates in the United States and other developed countries over the past several decades.

“Far fewer doctors recommend the HPV vaccine to men and boys even though studies have shown it offers protection for both males and their partners,” Friedrichs said.

The goals of the vaccination are to reduce the spread of genital warts beginning in young adulthood and to prevent persistent HPV-related cancers and infections that occur later in life.