Highlighting Self-Preservation : Flipping the Script for Acceptance of the HPV Vaccine in Adolescent Males
by TAYLOR C PARKER , CHERYL LIN , PHD , PIKUEI TU , PHD , MBA , LYNN P PARKER , MD
A Brief Introduction to HPV and the Associated Vaccine :
Sexually transmitted infections ( STIs ) represent a significant health expense to the U . S . economy , with new STIs costing nearly $ 16 billion annually . 1 In 2018 , half of the 26 million newly infected in the U . S . were young adults ages 15-24 . 1 The most common STI is human papillomavirus ( HPV ). 2 In some cases , HPV may not result in long-term health problems aside from its characteristic genital warts , but certain types of HPV have been linked to cervical , vaginal , vulvar , anal , penile , lung and oropharyngeal cancers . 2 The vaccine for HPV is highly effective at preventing the cervical cancers associated with HPV types 16 and 18 . 3 , 4 These two types of HPV account for 70 % of cervical cancers , while types 6 and 11 are only associated with genital warts . 5 The quadrivalent HPV vaccine confers protection against those four strains ; the more complete nine-valent HPV vaccine protects against types 6 , 11 , 16 , 18 , 31 , 33 , 45 , 52 and 58 , and is now the only vaccine currently distributed in the U . S . 6 Since the approval of the vaccine in 2006 , there was an 88 % decrease in HPV infections from 11.5 % to 1.1 % as of 2018 , 7 as well as decreases in the incidence of genital warts in teens and the incidence of cervical precancers in young women . 6
However , there is a misconception that HPV-linked cancers mainly affect women due to the widespread knowledge regarding the association of HPV and cervical cancer . 8 Consequently , fewer men than women are vaccinated against HPV , indicating a gap in facilitating cancer prevention in men . 9 , 10 While the CDC recommends all adolescents ages 11-26 be vaccinated against HPV , only 56.8 % of girls and 51.8 % of boys were up to date on the vaccination in 2019 . 2 , 6 , 9 This is particularly concerning , as on average , 19,925 cancers in males and 25,405 cancers in females annually are associated with sites where HPV is often found ; 74 % and 83 % of these cancers respectively are most likely caused by HPV . 10 Men account
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