HPV Vaccination – Page 2 – Oral Cancer News

Sexual Activity–Related Outcomes After Human Papillomavirus Vaccination of 11- to 12-Year-Olds

Source: PediatricsPublished Online: October 15, 2012By: Robert A. Bednarczyk, PhD, Robert Davis, MD, MPH, Kevin Ault, MD, Walter Orenstein, MD, and Saad B. Omer, MBBS, PhD, MPH ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE: Previous surveys on hypothesized sexual activity changes after human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination may be subject to self-response biases. To date, no studies measured clinical markers of sexual activity after HPV vaccination. This study evaluated sexual activity–related clinical outcomes after adolescent vaccination. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study utilizing longitudinal electronic data from a large managed care organization. Girls enrolled in the managed care organization, aged 11 through 12 years between July 2006 and December 2007, were classified by adolescent vaccine (HPV; tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis, adsorbed; quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate) receipt. Outcomes (pregnancy/sexually transmitted infection testing or diagnosis; contraceptive counseling) were assessed through December 31, 2010, providing up to 3 years of follow-up. Incidence rate ratios comparing vaccination categories were estimated with multivariate Poisson regression, adjusting for health care–seeking behavior and demographic characteristics. RESULTS: The cohort included 1398 girls (493 HPV vaccine–exposed; 905 HPV vaccine–unexposed). Risk of the composite outcome (any pregnancy/sexually transmitted infection testing or diagnosis or contraceptive counseling) was not significantly elevated in HPV vaccine–exposed girls relative to HPV vaccine–unexposed girls (adjusted incidence rate ratio: 1.29, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.92 to1.80; incidence rate difference: 1.6/100 person-years; 95% CI: −0.03 to 3.24). Incidence rate difference for Chlamydia infection (0.06/100 person-years [95% CI: −0.30 to 0.18]) and pregnancy diagnoses (0.07/100 person-years [95% CI: −0.20 to 0.35]), indicating little [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-06-17T11:03:53-07:00June, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

ASCO: Actor’s Oral Sex Remarks May Aid HPV Prevention

By: Crystal Phend, Senior Staff WriterPublished: June 03, 2013Source: MedPage Today CHICAGO -- Actor Michael Douglas' apparent claim that he got throat cancer from human papillomavirus (HPV) contracted through oral sex may help aid prevention efforts, experts suggested. Douglas, now 68, was diagnosed with a "walnut-sized" stage IV tumor at the base of his tongue in 2010 after months of oral discomfort. His well-known tobacco and alcohol habits -- both risk factors for oropharyngeal cancers -- had been thought to be the cause, but he appeared to indicate otherwise in an interview appearing in British tabloid The Guardian yesterday. While one of his representatives has since challenged that interpretation of the interview, the spotlight on HPV as a cause of cancer should promote awareness of the need for HPV vaccination, head and neck cancer and HPV specialists contacted here at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting said. "It's no surprise to physicians such as myself, because probably 80% of the tonsil and tongue cancers I see are related to HPV," Eric Moore, MD, an oropharyngeal cancer specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., noted in an interview with MedPage Today. Most adults become exposed to the virus at some point but clear it like any other infection. Those who become chronically infected are at elevated risk of cervical, anal, and head and neck cancers, particularly from subtype 16. The tonsils and base of tongue are the predominant areas affected in the head and neck because of the [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-06-04T11:35:27-07:00June, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

One Less Cancer to Worry About (If Only)

Posted: 02/07/2013 By: Joaquin M. Espinosa Source: Huffington Post Thankfully, there is one cancer that I no longer have to worry about. I just need to figure out when exactly my seven-year-old twin daughters will have sex for the first time. ... In 2013, around 12,000 American women will be diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer and more than 4,000 will die from it. Globally, cervical cancer is the third most common cancer in women worldwide, killing >275,000 every year. But these numbers will go down, must go down, because cervical cancer is now a fully preventable disease. Or isn't it? For us cancer researchers, good news is often not good enough and too spread apart. In this long war, we became weary of unfounded celebrations. When asked when exactly our discoveries will make a difference in the clinic, we balk and hesitate, as we have been scarred by the many times that our discoveries did not translate into a cure. Yet this time is different, this victory is unequivocal, scientific research has led to the development of vaccines that can make cervical cancer history. Now all there is left to do is to get people vaccinated. Startlingly, this seemingly simple objective is proving to be a monumental task. Cervical cancer originates in the lower portion of the uterus, and if not detected and treated early it will eventually metastasize and kill. Virtually all cervical cancers are caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), which is present in about half [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-02-08T13:46:55-07:00February, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Alberta committee suggests free HPV vaccine for boys

Source: CBC News Cost to the province estimated between $5 million and $8 million The province is considering offering boys free immunizations against the human papillomavirus. The HPV vaccination is currently offered on a voluntary basis to all girls in Alberta entering Grade 5. The vaccine is said to prevent 70 per cent of cervical cancers, according to Alberta Health and Wellness. Two strains of HPV are also thought to be a cause of anal, penile and oral cancers. Susan Morgan's husband was diagnosed with Stage 4 oral cancer, which they later found out was caused by the HPV virus. She has been lobbying to have the vaccine for boys covered by the province and was astounded the HPV vaccination was only free for girls. Morgan says the effects of the radiation and chemotherapy treatment for the cancer were horrific. "You have open sores in your mouth,” she said. “You start to lose your ability to swallow; you end up on a feeding tube." Free vaccine for boys recommended A report by an advisory committee in Alberta recommends extending HPV coverage to boys. Chief medical officer Dr. Andre Corriveau says that would cost between $5 million and $8 million. Now he'll review the report and advise the province by the end of the month. "I have a responsibility right now to make sure our system has the capacity to deliver," he said. But, for the Morgans, waiting is not an option and they have decided to pay hundreds of dollars [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-05-07T13:25:56-07:00May, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

New Evaluation for HPV16 Related Cancers Using “Pap-Test Equivalent”

Source: Cancer Prevention Research Abstract Human papillomavirus (HPV) is responsible for the rising incidence of oropharyngeal squamous cell cancers (OSCC) in the United States, and yet, no screening strategies have been evaluated. Secondary prevention by means of HPV detection and cervical cytology has led to a decline in cervical cancer incidence in the United States. Here, we explored an analogous strategy by evaluating associations between HPV16 infection, cytopathology, and histopathology in two populations at elevated risk for OSCCs. In the first, a cross-sectional study population (PAP1), cytology specimens were collected by means of brush biopsy from patients presenting with oropharyngeal abnormalities. In the second (PAP2), a nested case–control study, bilateral tonsillar cytology samples were collected at 12-month intervals from HIV-infected individuals. The presence of cytopathologic abnormality in HPV16-positive tonsil brush biopsies (cases) was compared with HPV16-negative samples (controls) matched on age and gender. HPV16 was detected in samples by consensus primer PCR and/or type-specific PCR. Univariate logistic regression was used to evaluate associations. In PAP1, HPV16 alone (OR: 6.1, 95% CI: 1.6–22.7) or in combination with abnormal cytology (OR: 20, 95% CI: 4.2–95.4) was associated with OSCC. In PAP2, 4.7% (72 of 1,524) of tonsillar cytology specimens from HIV-infected individuals without oropharyngeal abnormalities were HPV16 positive. Tonsillar HPV16 infection was not associated with atypical squamous cells of unknown significance (ASCUS), the only cytologic abnormality identified. Therefore, HPV16 was associated with OSCCs among individuals with accessible oropharyngeal lesions but not with cytologic evidence of dysplasia among high-risk individuals without such lesions. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-09-05T12:06:20-07:00September, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

HPV Becomes a Major Topic for Researchers as a Source of Oral Cancers

By Andy Blatchford, The Canadian Press MONTREAL — Amid Michael Douglas's personal and philanthropic battle with throat cancer, the Oscar-winning actor is shedding light on a viral form of the disease lurking in a growing number of mouths. Oral cancer has long been linked to tobacco and alcohol use, but an expanding body of research suggests human papillomavirus, or HPV, is an increasing cause of the deadly disease. The culprit behind the sexually transmitted virus' emergence in mouth and throat cancers? Experts say a major factor is the prevalence of oral sex. More and more researchers have cast their microscopes on the mysteries of HPV-caused oral cancers, including McGill University, which received a big fundraising boost last week with the help of Douglas. The grateful actor, diagnosed with throat cancer last year in a Montreal hospital, volunteered to headline a charity event for the McGill Head and Neck Cancer Fund. The 66-year-old, who calls himself a "poster boy" for head-and-neck cancer, has blamed alcohol as a likely source of his illness, not HPV. Still, a portion of the $2 million amassed at the event will support HPV-caused oral cancer research. The doctor who first detected the walnut-sized tumour in Douglas's throat said the fund has supported HPV projects in the past and more are in the works. "This is an area of increasing incidence," Dr. Saul Frenkiel said of HPV-caused oral cancer at the university-affiliated hospital where he treated Douglas. Although relatively rare, the Canadian Cancer Society estimates oral cancers, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-05-09T14:38:18-07:00May, 2011|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Most HPV vaccinations not completed in urban study

Source: MedScape Today By: Nick Mulcahy November 10, 2010 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) — Nearly 70% of young women and girls who received a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination at a medical center in Baltimore, Maryland, did not complete the recommended 3-dose regimen, according to a new study. Of the 2641 females (aged 9 to 26 years) who started HPV vaccination from 2006 to 2010, 39.1% received a single dose, 30.1% received 2 doses, but only 30.78% completed the recommended 3-dose regimen. "If we are going to offer a vaccine, we need to know who's getting it and who's getting the full course so we know who's protected and who's not," said the study's lead author, J. Kathleen Tracy, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. Not completing a full course of the vaccine results in underprotection, said Dr. Tracy in an interview withMedscape Medical News. She presents the results of her study today here at the Ninth Annual American Association for Cancer Research International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research. Dr. Tracy said that she did not anticipate that 18 to 26 year olds would be the age group least likely to complete all 3 doses of the regimen. "Given all of the marketing and attention about the HPV vaccine, I was surprised by the lack of follow-through among young women," she said. "It's probably the first time they are managing their own medical care," said Dr. Tracy about the young [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-11-14T08:17:49-07:00November, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Does framing human papillomavirus vaccine as preventing cancer in men increase vaccine acceptability?

Source: PubMed.gov BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is now approved for use in males in the United States to prevent genital warts. We conducted an experiment to see whether framing HPV vaccination as also preventing cancer in men would increase men's vaccination willingness. METHODS: We conducted an online survey in January 2009 with a national sample of men ages 18 to 59 years who self-identified as gay/bisexual (n = 312) or heterosexual (n = 296). In the within-subjects experiment, men read four randomly ordered vignettes that described hypothetical vaccines that prevented either genital warts alone, or genital warts and either anal cancer, oral cancer, or penile cancer. We analyzed data using repeated measures ANOVA and tested whether perceived severity or perceived likelihood mediated the effect of disease outcome framing on men's HPV vaccination willingness. RESULTS: Although only 42% of men were willing to receive HPV vaccine when it was framed as preventing genital warts alone, 60% were willing to get it when it was framed as preventing cancer in addition to genital warts (P < 0.001). The effect of outcome framing was the same for heterosexual and gay/bisexual men and for the three cancer types examined. Perceived severity of disease partially mediated the association between disease outcome and HPV vaccination willingness. CONCLUSIONS: Men may be more accepting of HPV vaccine when it is framed as preventing cancer, regardless which of the three most common HPV-related cancers in men is described. IMPACT: Study findings may be useful in developing health communication messages that maximize HPV vaccine [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-11-08T13:52:28-07:00November, 2010|Oral Cancer News|