- Oropharyngeal cancer cases in men are rising, often without traditional risk factors like smoking
- HPV spreads through intimate contact and can remain silent for years before symptoms appear
- Vaccination before HPV exposure can prevent cancers, highlighting the need for gender-neutral awareness
Human papillomavirus, or HPV, is still widely seen as a women's health issue. This perception exists because people associate HPV with its established connection to cervical cancer. The truth extends beyond this view. HPV affects people regardless of their background. The same virus now establishes connections to multiple cancers which affect men particularly through tonsil and anal and penile cancers, yet people still show low awareness about this fact.
Tonsil cancer related to HPV, often called oropharyngeal cancer, has been rising steadily over the past decade. Many men diagnosed have no history of smoking or heavy alcohol use, which traditionally were the main risk factors. The common thread in these cases is HPV infection. Patients with neck lumps and swallowing difficulties and persistent throat pain tend to receive delayed diagnosis because they present with symptoms that seem minor.
Also Read: India To Launch Free HPV Shots For Adolescent Girls Nationwide This Year
The Overlooked Cancer Risk Men Need to Know About
What this really means is that the narrative around HPV needs to change. The program exists to protect women from threats of cervical cancer. Understanding HPV requires people to recognize it as a health danger which affects all members of society. The virus spreads through intimate point to point contact, and most people will be exposed at some point in their lives, often without even knowing it because infections can stay silent for years.
Men are displaying a growing trend of anal and penile cancers which doctors connect to HPV. The cancers occur less frequently than throat cancer, but they have potential to cause serious health issues which will change a person's life. Society fails to talk openly about sexual health, while people face stigma against discussing their sexual health issues, and public health organizations provide almost no educational materials to men about sexual health. These factors create obstacles that prevent people from receiving timely diagnosis and block access to preventive care.
Vaccination and Awareness Can Close the Gender Gap in Prevention
The story moves from concern to action when people start preventive measures. The HPV vaccine provides strong protection against the virus strains which most commonly cause cancers. The vaccine provides substantial cancer prevention benefits when administered before a person experiences their first exposure to HPV.
Campaigns need to create public awareness about actual existing situations. The protection against HPV exists independently of any specific gender. The goal of this program is to decrease cancer risk which affects all people. The combination of vaccination encouragement for both boys and girls with increased awareness about HPV and education on early symptoms will create a substantial positive impact.
Men need to understand the hidden connection between HPV and cancer which currently exists as an unspoken fact. The public needs to understand that all types of cancers which develop through vaccination programs are both preventable and treatable when proper awareness exists with equal attention given through prevention programs.
(By Dr. V Rama Krishna, Consultant - Radiation Oncology, Manipal Hospitals Vijayawada)
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