HPV Part 2

Part 1 is here. So we have another article on that topic:

The prevalence of oral human papillomavirus is nearly three times higher in men than in women, according to data from more than 5,000 individuals in the United States.

The findings were simultaneously published online in JAMA and presented at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium in Phoenix on Jan. 26 (JAMA 2012;307: [doi: 10.1001/jama.2012/101]). [...]

The researchers conducted a cross-sectional study of HPV infection as part the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for 2009-2010. The study population included 5,579 men and women aged 14-69 years who were tested for HPV at mobile centers.

Overall, the prevalence of any HPV infection was 6.9%, and the prevalence of HPV type 16 (the type associated with OSCC) was 1%. The prevalence of any HPV infection was significantly higher in men than in women (10.1% vs. 3.6%, P less than .001). The peak prevalence of oral HPV occurred in people aged 30-34 years (7.3%) and 60-64 years (11.4%).

Infection in either gender was significantly more common in those with a history of any sexual contact (7.5%), compared with those who had no history of sexual contact (0.9%). The risk of infection also increased significantly as the number of sex partners for any type of sex increased. [...]

"Our data provide evidence that oral HPV infection is predominantly sexually transmitted," the researchers said. Although HPV-positive OSCC has been associated with oral sex in particular, this study could not associate infection with a particular sexual behavior, they added.

The incidence of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers increased 225% – from 0.8/100,000 to 2.8/100,000 – between 1988 and 2004

Well, about time to use that damn vaccine...

Gaps in sexual health care and problems with prostate cancer screening

Coming back out of the holidays there is some stuff to write about. For the men's health potion there were 2 articles, one dealing with:

Marcell (Arik Marcell, MD, MPH, assistant professor with the Bloomberg School’s Center for Adolescent Health and a teen health expert with the Hopkins Children’s Center) pointed to gaps in research, the absence of uniform clinical practice guidelines and care providers’ lack of knowledge as contributing factors to a health care environment in which male teens often don’t receive basic sexual and reproductive health care—services that he said should be standard in primary care settings. These include taking a sexual history, STI/HIV screening and testing, a sexual development physical assessment, including a genital exam, and discussion of the male role in contraception and STI/HIV prevention.

“I think the bottom line is there’s a major research gap,” said Marcell.

“We have little data about sexual and reproductive health services delivered to boys and young men, and the few studies that we have show gender disparities, with fewer services being provided to males,” he said, noting that the imbalance reflects the longstanding traditional emphasis on women’s health in the family planning and sexual and reproductive health arena.
Yet research shows that it’s vital to reach this population.

Studies have found that compared to teen girls male adolescents become sexually active at a younger age and engage in high-risk sexual behaviors more often, including unprotected sex and sex while drunk or on drugs.

And in a 2010 study in the Journal of Adolescent Health, based on data from the 2002 National Survey of Adolescent Males, Marcell found that fewer than 1 in 5 young men reported receiving STI/HIV counseling, a finding that indicates no improvement over a 7-year period.

And one about prostate cancer:

"The problem is that in contrast to the small benefits, a significant number of men will be harmed by the test and treatments that follow prostate cancer screening," [...] The PSA is unreliable, giving a falsely positive result 80 percent of the time. Prostate cancer is typically diagnosed in older men, and the disease usually progresses so slowly they die of something else. [...] It (a task force) cited an 11-year study of over 180,000 men. The study showed more than 1,000 need to be screened to detect 37 cancers and prevent a single prostate cancer death.

A breakthrough for men when it comes to contraception and prostate cancer?

I sure hope so, featuring 2 mensactivism links here:

'It is hoped the new treatment, which involves heating only the tumours with a highly focused ultrasound, will mean men can be treated without an overnight stay in hospital and avoiding the distressing side effects associated with current therapies.

A study has found that focal HIFU, high-intensity focused ultrasound, provides the 'perfect' outcome of no major side effects and free of cancer 12 months after treatment, in nine out of ten cases.

[...]

The procedure called RISUG in India (reversible inhibition of sperm under guidance) takes about 15 minutes with a doctor, is effective after about three days, and lasts for 10 or more years. A doctor applies some local anesthetic, makes a small pinhole in the base of the scrotum, reaches in with a pair of very thin forceps, and pulls out the small white vas deferens tube. Then, the doctor injects the polymer gel (called Vasalgel here in the US), pushes the vas deferens back inside, repeats the process for the other vas deferens, puts a Band-Aid over the small hole, and the man is on his way. If this all sounds incredibly simple and inexpensive, that’s because it is.

Men and breast cancer

An obvious double standard:

So, a patient advocate from the Charleston Cancer Center tried to help. She found a state program, federally funded, that provides medicaid for breast cancer patients and applied. But Raymond was denied.

Why? Because he's a man.

[...] Breast cancer in men may be rare, but it does happen. Statistics show one in 100 men will get it, roughly 2,100 cases a year.