HPV Cancers a Concern for Both Men and Women

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the leading cause of cervical cancer, but it also causes oral, anal and penile cancer. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) using data collected from 2004-2008, HPV causes 18,000 cancer cases in women and 8,000 cancer cases in men annually.

HPV prevention has become a concern for both men and women. Receiving an HPV vaccine before becoming sexually active is the leading way to prevent the disease. Vaccines have been approved and recommended for teen girls since 2006, but less than a third of all teenage girls have completed the three doses by 2010. Vaccines were just recommended for teen boys last year so statistics are unavailable.

The study found men are more likely than women to contract HPV oral cancer and women are at higher risk for HPV anal cancer. HPV causes over a third of penile cancers, two-thirds of oral cancers and over 90% of anal cancers.

Read the full WebMD article.