Men, Oral Sex and HPV

I saw a television news segment last night (03/01/2011) concerning the alarming increase of HPV in men with the primary cause of the increase being oral sex.

We face many types of risks in the hobby - legal, health, family, etc. Our knowledge concerning those risks (or a particular risk) allows us to make informed decisions on how to handle or manage those risks based on our own individual tolerance for a particular risk. It’s an individual choice because an activity that is high risk to one person may be considered a low risk to another.

The important thing is to have the needed information/knowledge to make the right decisions.

The risk of HPV has been well known to women for years. Unfortunately, many men need to be educated on the HPV risk to them. That’s the purpose of this post … to provide reputable and documented information. It’s up to each individual as to what extent this information affects his or her own life.

Oral Sex Can Add to HPV Cancer Risk
By Coco Masters
http://www.time.com/time/health/arti...619814,00.html

Oral sex can get most men's attention. The topic becomes considerably more relevant, however, when coupled with a new study linking the human papillomavirus (HPV) to an increased risk of a kind of oral cancer more often seen in men.

The study, which appears in this week's New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), shows that men and women who reported having six or more oral-sex partners during their lifetime had a nearly ninefold increased risk of developing cancer of the tonsils or at the base of the tongue. Of the 300 study participants, those infected with HPV were also 32 times more likely to develop this type of oral cancer than those who did not have the virus. These findings dwarf the increased risk of developing this so-called oropharyngeal cancer associated with the two major risk factors: smoking (3 times greater) or drinking (2.5 times greater). HPV infection drives cancerous growth, as it is widely understood to do in the cervix. But unlike cervical cancer, this type of oral cancer is more prevalent in men.

…The study's findings bring to light a part of the debate over HPV vaccination and treatment that is often overlooked: the elevated risks of cancer that being HPV-positive has for men. According to Johns Hopkins' researcher Dr. Maura Gillison, who worked on the study: "When you look at the cancers associated with HPV in men — including penile cancer, anal squamous cell carcinoma, oral cancers — it's very close to the number of cases of cervical cancer that occur in the U.S. in women every year. We need to adjust the public's perception... that only women are at risk."

In his practice, Haddad has seen an increase in the number of younger people developing this cancer, people in their 30s and 40s. He attributes it in part to a "change in sexual behavior over the last decade." He says: "The idea that oral sex is risk-free is not correct. It comes with significant risks, and developing cancer is one of them."

… "There's no question that the debate needs to go further than where it is now," says Haddad. "Men are carriers and that is one way of transmitting this virus."


MOUTH CANCER AND THE HUMAN PAPILLOMA VIRUS
http://www.rdoc.org.uk/hpv.html

The human papilloma virus (HPV) is one of the most common virus groups in the world to affect the skin and mucosal areas of the body. Over eighty types of HPV have been identified. Different types of the human papillomavirus are known to infect different parts of the body. It infects the epithelial cells of skin and mucosa. The epithelial surfaces include all areas covered by skin and/or mucosa such as the mouth, throat, tongue, tonsils, vagina, penis, and anus. Infection with the virus occurs when these areas come into contact with a virus, allowing it to transfer between epithelial cells.

Warts
The most common forms of the virus produce warts (papilloma's) on the hands, arms, legs, and other areas of the skin. The wart-like growths are called condyloma tissues. Condyloma tissue appears like a small, cauliflower-type growth on the skin. These growths are usually painless, but can cause some irritation, itching, or burning. It can be treated whenever it flares up, and is non malignant. Most HPV's of this type are very common, harmless, non cancerous, and easily treatable. Genital warts are known technically as condylomata acuminatum and are generally associated with two HPV types, numbers 6 and 11 and can be sexually transmitted.

Cervical Cancer and Oral Cancer
There are other forms of HPV which are also sexually transmitted, and are a serious problem. These are; HPV-16, HPV-18, HPV-31, and HPV-45. These cancer-associated types of HPVs cause dysplastic tissue growths that usually appear flat and are nearly invisible. Dysplastic tissue is the presence of abnormal cells on the surface of the skin. Dysplasia is not cancer, but it is a tissue change seen prior to malignancy. A highly studied topic is HPV's ability to cause cervical cancer. Dysplasia can be detected on the female cervix through a Pap smear test, or seen visually using a magnifying glass called a colposcope. The most dangerous HPV's, 16 and 18, which are transmitted through sexual contact are known to cause up to 95% of cervical cancers. Now these two HPV's are also being linked to oral cancer.

A study done by Dr. No-Hee Park showed that the mouth was, at the cellular level, structurally very similar to the vagina and cervix. Both organs have the same type of epithelial cells that are the target of HPV 16 and HPV 18. The majority of oral cancers are cancers of epithelial cells, primarily squamous cell carcinomas, not unlike the cancers that affect the cervix. Dr. Park's study also showed that smoking and drinking alcohol help promote HPV invasion.. Combine tobacco and alcohol with HPV, and the epithelial cells in the mouth, and you may have the formula for the development of an oral cancer.

A recent study conducted by Dr. Maura Gillison at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center furthered the premise that HPV is linked with certain types of oral cancer. In 25% of 253 patients diagnosed with head and neck cancers, the tissue taken from tumors was HPV positive and HPV 16 was present in 90% of these positive HPV tissues. This information helps to confirm that there is a strong link between HPV 16 and oral cancer. 25% of those diagnosed with oral cancer are non-smokers while the other 75% of those diagnosed have used tobacco in some form during their lifetimes. The research into the relationship of HPV and oral malignancies may give us clues as to the origin of cancer in those 25% of diagnosed individuals who did not smoke. Further research is being conducted into the relationship of HPV with oral cancers.

Treatments for Warts
Although there is currently no medical cure to eliminate a papillomavirus infection, the squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs) and warts these viruses cause can be treated. Methods used to treat SILs include cold cautery (freezing that destroys tissue), laser treatment (surgery with a high-intensity light), LEEP (loop electrosurgical excision procedure, the removal of tissue using a hot wire loop), as well as conventional surgery. Similar treatments may be used for external genital warts. In addition, two powerful chemicals (podophyllin and trichloroacetic acid) are capable of destroying external genital warts when applied directly to them. Imiquimod cream has also been recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an effective drug treatment. Imiquimod works by stimulating the immune system to fight the virus.

Have fun and play safe!

I started reading and gave up, but thanks for putting a smile on my face!

Am I mistaken, or is the HPV vaccine recommended only for women who have not started sexual activity at all? In other words, the younger the better.

Is this going to be true for men?

Men are now found to be carriers as well, so they are asking that young boys also be given the vaccine. We discussed this in class last week actually.

Am I mistaken, or is the HPV vaccine recommended only for women who have not started sexual activity at all? In other words, the younger the better.

Is this going to be true for men? Originally Posted by charlestudor2005

Is GARDASIL only for girls and young women?

No. GARDASIL was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in boys and young men ages 9 to 26 to help protect against 90% of genital warts cases.


GARDASIL may not fully protect everyone, nor will it protect against diseases caused by other HPV types or against diseases not caused by HPV.


http://www.gardasil.com/what-is-gard...n-on-gardasil/

I have been doing more reading and research on this and I am one of the greatest fans of DATY, but it is giving me cause to rethink the issue. Has everyone else just passed this off as another necessary risk associated with the hobby or are any of you considering withdrawing from a most favorite activity because of the now perceived higher risk factor of HPV that is hardly detectable in men and also the greater risk factor of oral cancer? I am past the age of receiving a vaccine for possible prevention and would really hate to give up a most favorite activity, but I also do not want to increase my risk of oral cancer. That is one of the reasons I gave up another favorite of mine smoking fine cigars. I have been in many risky environments and just hobbying is a risk in itself, but oral cancer is not one of the things I find attractive.

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OK....my big fear is tap water. LOL I only drink bottled water....damn all those industries contaminating all the different water supplies and then having movies made with folks dying off from different forms of cancer caused by said water supplies. I usually won't even have drinks with ice cubes unless I know there is a filtering system involved. False sense of security, I know, but at least it's some kind of protection from the unknown contaminants that may or may not be present.

Point....just about anything and everything is risky these days. You have options to participate in or partake of many things that are "bad" for or could harm you. Is there any way we can ensure absolute immunity or safety from everything that could happen to us? Nope.

I recently read that most Americans will be involved in at least one car accident in their lifetime. How many of us are gonna stop driving because of the risk? If you've already been in one, does that lessen the odds you'll ever be in another one? Who knows? If something you do has risks that weigh heavy on you, you will probably change that behavior or try to do something to lessen the risk. Maybe some day I'll have a glass of tap water again. I know it might seem silly to some, but I really don't care and just can't bring myself to do it. No problems bathing in it....go figure.

Anyone got a bubble I can borrow or rent to move into? Might be harder to provide while in one, but I guess I can talk my gents through the session. Kinda like live internet porn.... I may have just discovered a new market! Bubble Sex? Sex Bubbling?

I just went to the county mobile unit for STD testing, (just to satisfy myself I'm clean) I did ask about HPV testing since it's in the news last week, they said there was no test for men, although the vaccine can be given, at least to the younger men and women. How accurate this is coming from the Dallas County Health Dept. I don't know?

I don't want to seem naive or nonchalant about health concerns and social wellbeing but I swear that if I have a choice between living to sixty-five and enjoying life or eighty and living in a goddamn bubble, I'll take the dirtnap early thankyou. The innocence and naïveté of childhood is the most precious commodity on earth, we spend our adulthood having fear crammed down our throats. A recent study concluded that happiness caused cancer in lab rats!!!

I don't want to seem naive or nonchalant about health concerns and social wellbeing but I swear that if I have a choice between living to sixty-five and enjoying life or eighty and living in a goddamn bubble, I'll take the dirtnap early thankyou. The innocence and naïveté of childhood is the most precious commodity on earth, we spend our adulthood having fear crammed down our throats. A recent study concluded that happiness caused cancer in lab rats!!! Originally Posted by roscoe14850

@ you and MAX....