“Cervical cancer is why the vaccine originally got approved. But that’s not the whole story. HPV causes a half-dozen different kinds of cancer, and some are gender-neutral. Some of these malignancies are sex-specific: cancers of the cervix, vagina and vulva in females; penile cancer in boys; both get HPV-associated genital warts.
But both sexes get anal cancer linked to HPV — sometimes without ever having had anal sex. That’s because the virus can migrate from the genitalia. And even though anal cancer is thought to be mainly a risk among men who have sex with men, more women get it than men.
But Dizon worries most about cancers of the head and neck — devastating, often disfiguring and hard-to-treat malignancies that used to be strongly linked to smoking and alcohol abuse. “There’s an epidemic of head and neck cancers, and we are seeing this increase in … nonsmokers,” he says. “And it’s being tied to HPV.”
Around 50,000 Americans will get head and neck cancers this year, versus 12,000 cervical cancers and 1,400 penile cancers.”
- Why HPV Vaccination Of Boys May Be Easier : Shots - Health Blog : NPR
But both sexes get anal cancer linked to HPV — sometimes without ever having had anal sex. That’s because the virus can migrate from the genitalia. And even though anal cancer is thought to be mainly a risk among men who have sex with men, more women get it than men.
But Dizon worries most about cancers of the head and neck — devastating, often disfiguring and hard-to-treat malignancies that used to be strongly linked to smoking and alcohol abuse. “There’s an epidemic of head and neck cancers, and we are seeing this increase in … nonsmokers,” he says. “And it’s being tied to HPV.”
Around 50,000 Americans will get head and neck cancers this year, versus 12,000 cervical cancers and 1,400 penile cancers.”
- Why HPV Vaccination Of Boys May Be Easier : Shots - Health Blog : NPR