A novel US study suggests that oral human papillomavirus (HPV) contamination is more frequent among men than women, which leads to increased risk of head and neck cancer for men. But, very little is known about the epidemiology of oral HPV infection.
HPV infection causes the majority of cervical cancers and cancer of head and neck. Though smoking and drinking are important known risk factors for head and neck cancers, but oral HPV contamination increases the risk of cancer by fifty percent. The incidence of neck and head cancers has increased significantly over the last three decades.
For their study research team from Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, evaluated more than fifty-five hundred people aged fourteen to seventy. As part of study researchers used statistics from a cross-sectional study of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. All study participants, given skin samples for testing from their mouths.
In addition to that they were asked about their lifestyles and sexual history. On the whole prevalence of oral HPV infection was seven percent. About ten percent of men had oral HPV infection in comparison three and half percent of women had oral HPV infection. The study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Incidence of HPV increased with life span or recent number of partners for any kind of lovemaking. According to lead author Dr Maura Gillison, their findings should influence research into the existing HPV vaccines and how effective they could be in preventing oral cancers. The efficiency of vaccine against oral HPV infection is unknown.
So vaccination cannot be recommended at present for the primary prevention of oropharyngeal cancer. Given an analysis of US cancer registry statistics recently projected that the number of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers diagnosed each year will surpass that of invasive cervical cancers by the year 2020, perhaps such vaccine trials are warranted, added Dr Gillison.
Although there is not yet any evidence to show whether HPV vaccination is effective at preventing oral HPV infections, results like these are vital to help inform prevention programmes in the future, explained Jessica Harris, health information manager at Cancer Research UK.