One in nine American men between the ages of 18 and 69 have oral HPV, which is linked to cancers of the head, neck and throat, according to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
For the study, researchers examined 2011-14 data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Analysis revealed the prevalence of oral HPV to be 11.5 percent among men and 3.2 percent among women. The percentages equate to 11 million men and 3.2 million women nationwide. Men who had multiple oral sex partners, were gay or bisexual or who had a genital HPV infection were most likely to be infected with oral HPV.
While the CDC recommends both girls and boys receive the HPV vaccination, the number of boys inoculated remains low. HPV most commonly causes a head and neck cancer called oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, which is more prevalent in men.
"The incidence of this cancer has increased 300 percent in the last 20 years," Ashish Deshmukh, PhD, research assistant professor at the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions in Gainesville and one of the study's authors, told HealthDay. "We've got to vaccinate young boys, because vaccine has the potential to decrease cancer risk … In the short term, we need to find alternate prevention methods, for example, screening people and identifying precancerous lesions that can be treated."
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