An expert is shedding light on why men are far more likely to develop HPV-related throat cancers.
HPV, or human papillomavirus, is a common STI, with around 14 out of 200 strains known to cause cancer. According to the CDC, roughly 10 percent of men and 3.6 percent of women carry HPV.
Most infections clear up on their own, and health officials say nearly everyone who is sexually active will contract HPV at some point. However, some cases are more serious than others.
In most instances, the virus disappears within a year or two and doesn’t require treatment. But for some people, it can linger quietly, and that’s where the risk comes in.
What is HPV?
According to the Mayo Clinic, “some types of genital HPV can cause cancer of the lower part of the uterus that connects to the vagina, called the cervix. Other cancers have also been linked to HPV infection. These include cancers of the anus, penis, vagina, vulva, and the back of the throat. Cancer at the back of the throat is called oropharyngeal cancer.”
Actor Michael Douglas spoke about his stage four throat cancer diagnosis in 2010, later suggesting it may have been linked to oral sex. He did, however, also point to other risk factors such as smoking and drinking.
Researchers say men are more affected than women. In the UK, around two in three new HPV-related head and neck cancer cases are diagnosed in men, according to VT.
The HPV vaccine
Karis Betts, a cancer epidemiologist at Cancer Research UK, says one of the challenges is how long the virus can go unnoticed.
“It can take decades” for HPV to appear, she told LADbible.
“There are studies that look at risk for different people. Straight women who have sex with men have a higher risk than women who have sex exclusively with women. And men who have sex with men have a higher risk than straight men.
“The HPV vaccine is also available up to age 40 for men who have sex with men because the risk is slightly higher.
“Men have higher rates of head and neck cancers than women. This is historically linked to other risk factors as well.
“If you look a few decades ago, there were very high rates of smoking in men and high alcohol consumption, and these have consistently been higher than in women.
“Men have higher rates of head and neck cancers, particularly in the mouth and throat, and these cancers are also caused by factors that are more prevalent in men.”
Smoking and alcohol far more likely to cause cancer
She also said that “smoking and alcohol are much bigger drivers of head and neck cancers than HPV.”
According to the CDC, “HPV is most commonly spread during vaginal or anal sex. It can also spread through close skin-to-skin contact during sex. A person with HPV can pass the infection even when they have no signs or symptoms.”
When it comes to prevention, Betts says the focus should be on vaccination and routine screening.
“The main preventable measures against HPV in the population are vaccination and cervical screening,” she said.
“Vaccines work best, which is why they are most effective at school age, before people have been exposed to the virus.
“If people are concerned about their cancer risk, the best things they can do, especially for head and neck cancer, are to not smoke or to quit smoking, and to reduce their alcohol intake.
“Actions like these will have a much greater impact on your cancer risk than worrying about an HPV infection.”
She also addressed a common misconception about prevention.
“The advice isn’t to stop having sex,” Betts said, adding: “People should live and enjoy their lives, and sex is part of that.”
