News that oral HPV infection is common among American men is of great concern. It has been reported in the journal Clinical Cancer Research that oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is now recognized as an important cause of oropharyngeal cancers. It has been reported by Infectious Disease News "Oral HPV infection common among US men." According to Maura L/ Gillison, MD, PhD the rate for oral human papillomavirus infection is nearly threefold among men than women in the United States.
Gillison, who is associated with the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, has said “Oral HPV infection is the cause of the cancer [oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma] rising in incidence largely among men in the United States, and yet, very little is known about oral HPV infection.” It is for this reason that Gillison and colleagues decided to assess the prevalence of oral HPV infection among 5,579 men and women aged 14 to 69 years included in a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2009 to 2010.
The study participants provided a 30-second oral rinse and gargle sample with mouthwash. The researchers than examined DNA purified from oral exfoliated cells using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and type-specific hybridization. The researchers discovered that overall, the prevalence of oral HPV infection among men and women was 6.9%. However, in comparison with women, men had a significantly higher prevalence for any oral HPV (10.1%) vs. (3.6%), according to the study. It was discovered that HPV infection was highest among men aged 30 to 34 years (7.3%) and 60 to 64 years (11.4%). And it was found that the rate increased with an increased number of sexual partners and cigarettes smoked per day.
Gillison has gone on to say “Similar studies of cervical HPV infection among women, ultimately, led to the development of very important public health interventions, such as HPV vaccination to prevent cervical HPV infection, as well as HPV detection to screen for cervical cancer. Oropharynx cancers, by contrast, have no analogous screening methodology. It is hoped that additional research on oral HPV infections stimulated by these findings will result in similar health interventions for oropharynx cancer.” It is clearly also advisable to encourage men and women to be avoid risky sex in order to avoid HPV infection.
