2023-08-18 15:11:07
It is a virus that has long been attributed to exclusively female problems. And yet, the papillomavirus would affect more than one in three adult men, revealed a study published Wednesday, August 16 in the scientific journal The Lancet Global Health.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections are numerous and diverse. “There are over 200 types of HPV that can be sexually transmitted, and at least 12 types are oncogenic,” can trigger cancers, underline the authors of the study.
While the majority of papillomavirus infections are asymptomatic and naturally expelled by the body, the virus is known to be the cause of cervical cancer which kills 340,000 women worldwide, and 1,000 in France each year. .
But if epidemiological studies are “mostly female-centric”31% of men are affected by HPV, this is what the researchers discovered by bringing together 65 studies carried out in 35 countries between 1995 and 2022. However, “data on the prevalence of HPV in men are essential for understanding the burden of disease and the risk of transmission in men and women”insists the study.
Men affected by cancer
Because if the man is not affected by cancer of the cervix, the main known cause of death due to HPV, he can transmit the virus to the woman by being a healthy carrier. It then constitutes a real “reservoir of sexually transmitted HPV infections”.
More than one in five men (21%) is a carrier of high-risk, and therefore potentially oncogenic, HPV. But HPV infections are also associated with cancers of the penis, anus and oropharynx region (ears, nose, throat) and can therefore also affect men.
While it has long been offered only to young women, generalized vaccination against papillomavirus infections could eliminate different types of HPV, in particular HPV-16, the most widespread and the one responsible for cancer of the cervix. explains the study.
In 2022, 45 countries offered vaccination for young men. In France, it is only in 2021 that it is recommended for boys, whereas it was recommended for young girls aged 11 to 14 from 2007.
Vaccination recommended
Since condoms only imperfectly protect against infections, vaccination is currently the only effective solution to prevent HPV-related cancers. The realization of smears every three years is also recommended to detect cancer of the cervix.
At the end of 2021, only 46% of 15-year-old girls had received the vaccine and barely 6% of young boys. To catch up on protection against the virus, a generalized vaccination campaign against papillomaviruses will be launched at the start of the 2023 school year for all fifth graders.
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