Tag Archives: hpv

One dose of HPV vaccine may be enough to prevent cervical cancer

"The latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccination coverage indicates that in 2012, only 53.8 percent of girls between 13 and 17 years old initiated HPV vaccination, and only 33.4 percent of them received all three doses," said Mahboobeh Safaeian, Ph.D., an investigator in the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Md. "We wanted to evaluate whether two doses, or even one dose, of the HPV 16/18 L1 VLP vaccine [Cervarix] could induce a robust and sustainable response by the immune system," she added. "We found that both HPV 16 and HPV 18 antibody levels in women who received one dose remained stable four years after vaccination…

Parental perceptions are preventing HPV vaccination success

"The greatest misperception of parents is that the HPV vaccine isn’t needed," says Mayo Clinic’s Robert Jacobson, M.D., pediatrician in the Mayo Clinic Children’s Center and lead author of the editorial. "Not only is that wrong, it’s a dangerous idea to be spreading around. Recent figures show that at least 12,000 unvaccinated women develop cervical cancer from HPV every year." Other incorrect perceptions: The HPV vaccines are not safe, and they are given to children when they are too young. Dr. …

Cultural differences explain non-completion of HPV vaccination in girls in low-income families

In the study, Spanish-speaking parents whose daughters were not fully vaccinated said their providers either did not encourage the vaccine or didn’t explain that three shots were necessary for full protection. Parents also noted that the vaccine undermined the "no sex before marriage" message they were trying to convey. …

Vaccinating boys plays key role in HPV prevention

HPV has been linked to anal, penile and certain types of throat cancers in men. Since the virus is also responsible for various cancers in women, vaccinating boys will play a crucial role in reducing cancer rates across the sexes. "HPV is the single most common sexually transmitted infection," says Newman, Canada Research Chair in Health and Social Justice. …

Blood tests could detect sexually-transmitted oral cancers

Antibodies to a high-risk type of a virus that causes mouth and throat cancers when transmitted via oral sex can be detected in blood tests many years before onset of the disease, according to a World Health Organisation-led team of researchers. In a study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the researchers said their findings may in future lead to people being screened for human papillomavirus (HPV) antibodies, giving doctors a chance to find those at high risk of oral cancers. “Up to now, it was not known whether these antibodies were present in blood before the cancer became clinically detectable,” said Paul Brennan, of the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), who led the study and described the findings as “very encouraging”. “If these results are confirmed, future screening tools could be developed for early detection of the disease,” he said. While HPV is better known for causing cervical and other genital cancers, it is also responsible for an increasing number of cancers of the mouth and throat, particularly amongst men. The issue was highlighted earlier this month by Hollywood actor Michael Douglas, who said his throat cancer was caused by HPV transmitted through oral sex. Oral, head and neck cancers are traditionally associated with heavy smoking and alcohol consumption, but over the past few decades rates of the diseases have increased dramatically, especially in Europe and North America. Brennan said this is probably due to HPV infections because of changing sexual practices, such as an increase in oral sex. According to IARC data, about 30 percent of all oral cancers are estimated to be HPV-related, and the main type of HPV associated with these tumours is HPV16. EARLIER DETECTION A study in the British Medical Journal in 2010 also found rates of head and neck cancer linked to HPV were rising rapidly, prompting calls from some doctors for boys as well as girls to be offered vaccinations to protect them against HPV. Two vaccines - Cervarix, made by GlaxoSmithKline, and Gardasil, made by Merck & Co - can prevent HPV. This new study, by scientists from IARC as well as the German Cancer Research Center and the U.S. National Cancer Institute, used data from a large study known as EPIC, which involves 500,000 people from 10 European countries who were recruited in the 1990s and have been followed up since. Researchers found that of the 135 people in the study who developed oral cancers, 47, or about one third of them, had HPV16 E6 antibodies up to 12 years before the onset of disease. In a telephone interview, Brennan said early detection would also allow doctors to track patients with antibodies and intervene early if tumours develop. “The earlier the detection, the better the treatment and the greater the survival,” he said. The antibody test used in the study was relatively simple and cheap and could be developed as a tool for more widespread screening within about five years if these results are confirmed in future studies, he added. He cautioned, however, that more work was needed to improve the tests' accuracy, since in this research there were about 1 in 100 “false positives” - where a person with the HPV16 antibodies did not go on to develop an oral cancer. Brennan said another significant finding of the study was that patients with oral cancers linked to HPV16 were three times more likely to be alive five years after their diagnosis than oral cancer patients whose tumours were not HPV-related and may have been linked to other risks such as smoking or drinking.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/18/blood-tests-could-detect-sexually-transmitted-oral-cancers/

Michael Douglas’ interview: Can you get throat cancer from oral sex?

The Guardian newspaper published an interview with Michael Douglas on Sunday, in which the 68-year-old actor said his throat cancer hadn’t been caused by drinking or smoking – but by having oral sex. “Without wanting to get too specific, this particular cancer is caused by HPV, which actually comes about from cunnilingus,” Douglas told the British newspaper.  Douglas also went on to speculate that the stress of his son Cameron’s incarceration might have helped trigger the cancer as well. While a representative for Douglas maintains the actor did not specifically say oral sex was the cause of his cancer, the conversation still begs the question: Does having oral sex play a role in the development of oral cancer? While a connection between the two may seem bizarre, it is very possible that some oral cancers are the end result of intimate sexual contact. Rates of oral cancer – sometimes referred to as head and neck cancers – have been on the rise over the past decade.  While the main risk factors for oral cancers typically include drinking alcohol and smoking, around 25 percent of mouth and 35 percent of throat cancers are related to human papilloma virus (HPV) infection. “(HPV) is present within the fluids that are part of oral sexual behavior,” Dr. Marshall Posner, director of the head and neck oncology program at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, told FoxNews.com. “The vaginal fluids and semen will contain epithelial cells that have the virus on them and also free viral particles that can cause infection.” HPV cannot be transmitted through blood contact, but Posner said it may be possible to contract the virus from the direct contact of fluids through kissing. This can occur if an individual kisses someone who previously performed oral sex on someone else who had the virus. “If the virus is present in the oral pharynx and if it gets secreted in the saliva, then the saliva will contain potentially dangerous viral particles,” Posner said. There are more than 100 different types of HPV, and nearly everyone contracts some form of the virus in their youth.  Fortunately, the majority of HPV strains do not cause any symptoms, and in 90 percent of cases, the infection is naturally eradicated from the body within two years. However, some HPV types can cause genital warts, while others may lead to certain cancers in rare cases. HPV 16 and HPV 18 – which are sexually transmitted – are most closely associated with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer. According to Posner, 3 percent of adult males and 1 percent of adult females will have detectable HPV 16 in their saliva at any given moment in time.  However, just because HPV is detected in a sample of someone with oral cancer does not necessarily mean HPV caused the cancer.  According to the National Health Service in Britain, the virus becomes part of the pre-existing cancer cells’ genetic material, fostering the cells to grow. Oropharyngeal cancer symptoms include a lump in the back of the throat or mouth, pain in the ear or back of tongue, and difficulty swallowing. While the prognosis for HPV-negative oropharyngeal cancer is around 40 to 50 percent, the survival outcomes are generally better for HPV-positive cancers, ranging from 80 to 95 percent.  However, that prognosis is affected by drinking and smoking, which may have been a problem for Douglas. In the United States, HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer represents 60 percent of the total number of orapharyngeal cancer cases, which equal to about 15,000 per year.  Posner estimated that those cases will increase to 20,000 a year by the year 2015. While researchers cannot fully explain the rising rates of these cancers, one of the biggest risk factor for contracting HPV-positive oroharyngeal cancer includes having a high number of sexual partners, Posner said. “In smoking cigarettes and cancer, it doesn’t matter what brands you smoked, it matters how many you smoked,” Posner said.  “With HPV, it’s about the number of ‘brands’ you’ve been involved with. If you have numerous partners, you have a much higher risk of developing cancer. So (monogamous) people should go ahead and have the same intimate and personal relationship that they have with their partners and not be worried about it.” For those looking to protect themselves from contracting dangerous forms of HPV, practicing safe sex by using protection such as condoms and dental dams may help to diminish the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.  Posner also called for parents to get their children – including young boys –vaccinated against HPV. “I think people should make every effort to have children vaccinated, so I don’t have to treat this in the future,” Posner said.  I think it’s very important and to cure cancer we have to support research – it’s the best way we have to figure out how to cure this. Click to learn more about HPV from Mount Sinai Hospital.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/03/michael-douglass-reveal-can-get-throat-cancer-from-oral-sex/

New study explores providers’ perceptions of parental concerns about HPV vaccination

Cervical cancer incidence and mortality are markedly higher for low-income and minority women due to higher rates of HPV and limited access to screening and treatment. Vaccination for HPV has the potential to reduce health care disparities in cervical cancer rates if girls are vaccinated prior to sexual experimentation. Although providers felt that parents wanted to prevent cervical cancer in their daughters, some had concerns about safety of the vaccine and promoting early or unsafe sexual activity. …