Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a virus that most people associate with women and cervical cancer.  It is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the world.  According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “approximately 20 million Americans are currently infected with HPV, and another 6.2 million people become newly infected each year.”  Despite of the increase in attention being paid to HPV as of late little has been mentioned about HPV’s connection to head and neck cancers.            

In 2000, researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine found through research that HPV has been implicated as a likely cause of certain cancers of the head and neck, unrelated to the consumption of alcohol or use of tobacco.  In the research done at Johns Hopkins, 25% of the head and neck tumors tested positive for HPV.  Of the tumors that tested positive for HPV, 90% tested positive for HPV-16, the strand that is most often linked to cervical cancer.   The researchers also found that the HPV positive tumors had a better response to treatment than normal head and neck tumors.  “Finding HPV in an oropharyngeal cancer in most cases indicates a more favorable prognosis. These tumors are more sensitive to chemo-radiotherapy and the majority of these patients could be treated without major surgery,” said Saint Louis University Cancer Center director and otolaryngologist Dr. Mark Varvares.            

The latest research shows that HPV does not just affect women, it can affect anyone. The more that is uncovered about the virus and its link to cancers gives patients better diagnoses and treatment options.  The question is: should boys be vaccinated for HPV?            

 “With respect to vaccination of boys, the logical response would be yes, for many reasons,” said Dr. Varvares, “Men who are vaccinated would not then pass the virus on to non-vaccinated women. This could decrease the risk for cervical and oropharyngeal cancer among these women. The obvious advantage is also the potential to prevent oropharyngeal cancer among the vaccinated men.”   Most head and neck cancer can be traced to the consumption of alcohol and use of tobacco.  This means that head and neck cancer is highly preventable.  Some symptoms to look out for are lumps or sores that do not heal, a constant sore throat, difficulty swallowing and a change or hoarseness in the voice.  Early diagnosis of head and neck cancer significantly improves the survivability rates of patients.  

For more information, contact Cathy Turcotte or Kathleen Klebert at 314-268-7015.