boys – Oral Cancer News

No HPV Vaccination for Boys in UK

Source: Peter Russell Date: July 20, 2017 Source: www.medscape.com Health bodies are condemning a decision not to include boys in the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination programme as "shameful" and a "missed opportunity". The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has concluded that it "did not recommend vaccinating boys at this time as it was considered unlikely to be cost-effective". Girls aged 12 to 13 have routinely been offered the HPV jab since September 2008 as part of the NHS childhood vaccination programme. The JCVI has been considering whether to include boys on the scheme since 2014. Protection Against Some Cancers HPV is the name for a group of viruses that are most commonly passed on through genital contact between straight and same-sex partners. It is a very common infection. Almost every sexually active person will get HPV at some time in their lives. Most people who get HPV never develop symptoms or health problems, but for some it can lead to cancer of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, anus, and head and neck, as well as cause genital warts. According to health professionals, the virus has been linked to 1 in 20 cases of cancer in the UK. Campaigners in favour of giving boys the jab argue that HPV does not discriminate between the sexes and that offering the vaccine to boys in school would save lives. 'Few Additional Benefits' The JCVI has decided that a high take-up of the vaccine among girls would provide 'herd protection' to [...]

Charlotte Parker2017-08-01T08:42:02-07:00August, 2017|Oral Cancer News|

Plan not to give HPV vaccine to boys causes concern

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-40658791 Date: July 19th, 2017 A decision not to vaccinate boys against a cancer-causing sexually transmitted infection has attracted fierce criticism. Reported cases of human papilloma virus (HPV) - thought to cause about 80% of cervical cancers - have fallen sharply since girls were given the vaccine. But the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) found little evidence to justify treating boys too. Critics said vaccinating boys could help reduce the risk still further. Across the UK, all girls aged 12-13 are offered HPV vaccination as part of the NHS childhood vaccination programme. Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at Public Health England, said: "Evidence from around the world suggests that the risk of HPV infection in males is dramatically reduced by achieving high uptake of the HPV vaccine among girls. "While there are some additional benefits to vaccinating both males and females, the current models indicate that extending the programme to boys in the UK, where the uptake in adolescent girls is consistently high (over 85%), would not represent a good use of NHS resources." This initial recommendation by JCVI will now be subject to a public consultation and a final decision will be made in October. The British Dental Association said it would urge the committee to reconsider the evidence. The chair of the BDA, Mick Armstrong, said: "HPV has emerged as the leading cause of oropharyngeal cancers, so JCVI's unwillingness to expand the vaccination programme to boys is frankly indefensible." Shirley Cramer of the Royal Society [...]

Charlotte Parker2017-07-19T09:44:49-07:00July, 2017|Oral Cancer News|

Calls for teenage boys to be vaccinated against sexually transmitted virus after throat cancer cases double in UK

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk Author: Charles Walford Boys must be immunised against the most common sexually transmitted virus, health experts have said. The call comes after figures revealed an alarming rise in cancer linked to oral sex in young men. Cases of throat cancer have more than doubled to more than 1,000 a year since the mid-1990s. Previously the figure had been stable for many years. More than 70 per cent of cases are caused by human papilloma virus, compared with less than a third a decade ago. HPV, which can be transmitted during sex and open-mouth kissing, is the main cause of cervical cancer in women, with almost 3,000 women a year in the UK affected. Since 2008 all girls aged 12 to 13 in the UK have been offered a vaccination to protect them from HPV. The decision not to give it to boys too was heavily criticised at the time. Now specialists are urging the Department of Health to review its immunisation programme and offer boys the vaccine too, the Independent reports. They say this would not only ensure both sexes are protected against throat cancer, but it would help reduce the risk of cervical cancer in girls and of other cancers caused by HPV. Research suggests boys are more prone to get throat cancer from oral sex because the virus is found in higher concentrations in the female genital tract. Cancer typically takes 20 to 30 years to develop and the rise in HPV-related throat cancer is being [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-01-21T12:16:38-07:00January, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Can HPV vaccine stop throat cancer?

Source: children.webmd.com Author: Daniel J. DeNoon, WebMD Health News (Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD) HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccines protect against the sexually transmitted strains of HPV that cause cervical cancer. The same HPV strains -- spread by kissing and by oral sex -- cause oropharyngeal (OP) cancer, the form of head and neck cancer that affects the back and sides of the throat, the base of the tongue, and the tonsils. There's strong evidence that HPV vaccines prevent cervical cancer. There's no direct proof that these vaccines prevent throat cancer, but the rapid rise in cases among young people has some experts wanting to vaccinate first and get proof later. "We don't need to wait until all these molecular events are understood," Dong Moon Shin, MD, of Emory University's Winship Cancer Center, tells WebMD. "The time is now. For the HPV vaccine, cost is the only issue as side effects are minimal. Routine HPV vaccination has to be implemented very soon, for both boys and girls." In the U.S., that recommendation is made by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The ACIP now recommends routine HPV vaccination only for girls and young women in order to prevent cervical cancer. It permits vaccination of boys who want protection against HPV-caused genital warts. For two years, the ACIP has been mulling whether to recommend the HPV vaccine for boys. This would help prevent cervical cancer in unvaccinated women. It also would prevent HPV-related anal cancer and genital warts in both men [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-06-25T08:44:16-07:00June, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Nation backs HPV vaccination for boys

Source: www.dentalhealth.org.uk Author: press release An overwhelming majority of people in the UK have indicated that they want the vaccination for the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) to include boys and not just girls. In a survey carried out by the British Dental Health Foundation as part of November’s Mouth Cancer Action Month, nine out of every ten people want to see the vaccination introduced for secondary school boys. A vaccination programme for girls aged 12 to 13 has been in place in the UK since 2008, handing out over four million doses of the jab, but now the UK’s leading oral health charity says it is time for a change. Chief Executive of the Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter, says cases of HPV in men are growing at an alarming rate and that more must be done to prevent any future outbreak. Dr Carter said: “HPV is such growing concern – much of the 42 percent rise in incidence of mouth cancer over the last 10 years is down to HPV and whilst vaccination of young girls will help, in order to be truly effective we will need to consider vaccination of boys as well. “It is about time we took action to prevent this hidden killer, which is beginning to affect more and more young people. Expert studies suggest HPV is set to become the leading cause of mouth cancer alongside smoking and alcohol, so let us be proactive and plan against this threat. “The government wisely acted on the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-11-28T20:32:33-07:00November, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

HPV vaccination: inaccurate assumptions about oropharyngeal cancer

Source: BMJ 2009;339:b4525 Author: Erich M Sturgis et al. Excerpt from article: The article by Kim and Goldie on the cost effectiveness of including boys in a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme made assumptions about oropharyngeal cancers that are inaccurate.1 The prevalence of HPV in oropharyngeal cancer used in the article (31%) is based on worldwide estimates,2 but its prevalence in the US, where the research was done, is much higher.3 4 Source data for the review article referenced by the authors give the US specific HPV prevalence as 47% (42% for types 16/18),2 5 and other more recent high quality studies from the US have found rates as high as 72%.3 Furthermore, a recent population based study within the Colorado SEER registry found an HPV prevalence rate of 79% for oropharyngeal cancers diagnosed after 1994.4 Authors: Erich M Sturgis, associate professor1, Kristina R Dahlstrom, doctoral student2 Author affiliations: 1 Department of Head and Neck Surgery and Department of Epidemiology, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA, 2 University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, Texas, USA

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-11-04T15:30:17-07:00November, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

HPV vaccine studied for first time in men

Source: www.sciencedaily.com Author: staff A vaccine designed to protect against the most common causes of genital warts and cervical and penile cancer is now being evaluated in young men. The Medical College of Georgia is a site for the first international study of a vaccine that protects against four strains of human papillomavirus in men age 16 to 23. “It’s a great opportunity for men to protect themselves from developing genital warts and penile cancer,” says Dr. Daron G. Ferris, a principal investigator on the study who directs the MCG Gynecologic Cancer Prevention Center. “It’s also a great way for men to protect their sexual partners from developing warts as well as cervical cancer, lower genital tract cancers and precancerous changes of the cervix.” MCG also is studying the vaccine in boys and girls age 10 to 15 and is still enrolling women age 15 to 45 in several other studies. “We are interested in looking at the efficacy of this vaccine in populations that will become target populations, should the Food and Drug Administration approve the vaccine,” Dr. Ferris says. MCG was the largest site in North America for the study in women age 15 to 25 of a vaccine for HPV types 16 and 18, the two most common causes of cervical and penile cancer. That vaccine was reported 100 percent effective at preventing the persistent HPV infections that cause cervical cancer in the Nov. 13 issue of the British journal, The Lancet. This newest study in men [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-10-16T15:44:16-07:00October, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Nobel scientist urges wider vaccination against HPV infection

Source: www.european-hospital.com Author: staff A global vaccination programme against human papilloma virus (HPV), to include boys as well as girls, could lead to eradication of the virus and virtual disappearance of cervical cancer, predicted Nobel Prize winner, Professor Harald zur Hausen, after delivering the key-note lecture at the 16th International Meeting of the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO) in Belgrade, Serbia, this week. Professor zur Hausen, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2008 for his discovery of HPV as the cause of cervical cancer, explained that although HPV prevention will impact mainly on women’s health, it also has important implications for men’s health: “If we wish to achieve eradication within a reasonable period of time, we will need to vaccinate both sexes, and research has shown that boys respond to vaccination in the same way as girls. The main risk of developing cancer after HPV infection is with women and, because of the cost of vaccines, it has been decided to start with girls. But other cancers associated with HPV infection, such as anal and oral cancer, are more common in men, and genital warts occur in both sexes. So there is good reason to vaccinate boys before the onset of sexual activity as well,” said Professor zur Hausen. He suggested that future reductions in production costs and development of cheaper vaccines will make wider vaccination a realistic option, and added that a major reduction in HPV 16 and 18 – the viruses which [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-10-15T13:31:36-07:00October, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

FDA Advisory Committee recommends approval for use of GARDASIL® in boys and men

Source: www.merck.com Author: press release Merck & Co., Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee agreed that efficacy, immunogenicity and safety data from clinical trials in males support the use of GARDASIL¨ [Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16 and 18) Vaccine, Recombinant] in boys and men 9 through 26 years of age for the prevention of genital warts caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6 and 11. "Merck has been committed to pursuing the use of GARDASIL in both males and females since the vaccine was discovered over a decade ago," said Peter S. Kim, Ph.D., executive vice president, and president of Merck Research Laboratories. "We are pleased that the Advisory Committee agrees that the data support the use of GARDASIL in boys and men.” The committee’s recommendation will be considered by the FDA in its review of the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) that Merck submitted for GARDASIL in December 2008. The FDA is not bound by the committee’s guidance, but takes its advice into consideration when reviewing vaccines. Merck expects a decision from the FDA in the fourth quarter of 2009 after the agency has completed its review of Merck's application. “Today's discussion with the Advisory Committee brings the public health community closer to being able to provide GARDASIL to both men and women," said Anna R. Giuliano, Ph.D., Moffitt Cancer Center. GARDASIL has been approved for use in the U.S. since June 2006 and is [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-09-09T21:02:25-07:00September, 2009|Oral Cancer News|