Tag Archives: human papillomavirus

Another Reason For HPV Vaccine –Prevention of Anal Cancer

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Briefly noted: A recent study (L Vuitton et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2018; 16: 1768-76) document a high prevalence of anal canal high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV)  infection in all subjects (n=469, median age 54 years) and even higher rates in patients with Crohn’s disease (n=70).  The authors detected HPV DNA in anal tissues from 34% of the subjects and high risk (oncogenic) HPV in 18%.  In patients with Crohn’s disease, high risk HPV was detected in 30%.

My take: HPV infection predisposes to anal cancer which represent 3-4% of lower-digestive tract cancers. The high rate of HPV

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Prevent HPV

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The CDC currently recommends HPV vaccine at 11-12 years of age.  HPV Vaccine Information

Here’s why: NY Times: Close to Half of Americans with HPV

An excerpt:

More than 42 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 59 are infected with genital human papillomavirus, according to the first survey to look at the prevalence of the virus in the adult population.

The report, published on Thursday by the National Center for Health Statistics, found that high-risk strains of the virus — a cause of cervical and vaginal cancers, and cancer of the penis, as well as cancers of the anus and throat in both sexes — infect 25.1 percent of men and 20.4 percent of women.

The virus is transmitted by skin to skin contact; people who are infected may pass the virus to sexual partners…

“If we can get 11- and 12-year-olds to get the vaccine, we’ll make some progress,” Dr. McQuillan said. “You need to give it before kids become sexually active, before they get infected. By the time they’re in their mid-twenties, people are infected and it’s too late. This is a vaccine against cancer — that’s the message.”

Related blog post: Latest Vaccine Recommendations