BREAKING: Oral Human Papilloma Virus(HPV) in Men: On the Rise

Intoduction:
HPV is the commonest form of sexually transmitted diseases. Most sexually active men and women will contact it at some point in life. The virus is common in the United States and there are approximately 14 million newly diagnosed cases of human papillomavirus (HPV) annually.

Over the cause of my practice i have diagnosed five (5) cases of oropharyngeal cancer in men with correlation to high rate of oral sex,futhermore, have managed cases of Hpv infection in women.

There are different types of HPV, Some can lead to genital warts and others can cause some types of cancer. Each year, around 19,400 women and 12,100 men in the U.S. are affected by cancers that stem from HPV.

Brief facts on HPV:
Here are some key points about human papillomavirus.

1. Most sexually active men and women will contract the HPV virus at some point during their lifetime.
   2.HPV can be spread through oral, vaginal(Giving head), or anal sex.
   3.It can result in genital warts and some types of cancer.

Striking; Oral HPV Rates Higher in Men: Risk factors::
New data point to an alarming trend: 1 in 9 men have an oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. And when the focus is on HPV 16, the high-risk type associated with oropharyngeal cancer, the prevalence is six times higher among men than women.
To put this in context, the incidence of HPV-related mouth and throat cancers in men is now higher than cervical cancer in women.

The prevalence of oral HPV infection peaks at age 50-54 years and is particularly high among men who have had more than 16 lifetime oral sex partners, men who have had sex with men, and men with concurrent genital HPV infection. Smoking and marijuana use also increased the risk of infection.

Management: To reduce this trend, i encourage middle aged men and women to get vaccinated. Dr Nwaghor J.C (MD)