2023-09-04 08:03:30
in Silvia Turin
One in five with the strain that causes cancer. The greatest prevalence between 25 and 29 years. The virus is asymptomatic but can cause various diseases including cancer. The free vaccination in Italy is offered to 12-year-olds but few join
Nearly 1 in 3 men over the age of 15 worldwide are infected with at least one type of genital human papillomavirus (HPV) and 1 in 5 with one of the types of papillomaviruses with a high risk of causing cancer. A systematic review and meta-analysis showed this pubblicata su The Lancet Global Health
which evaluated the prevalence of the infection in the general male population based on studies published between 1995 and 2022.
The numbers
The global prevalence has been estimated at 31% for any HPV and 21% for high-risk HPV. HPV-16 was the most prevalent HPV genotype (5%) followed by HPV-6 (4%). HPV prevalence was high in young adults, peaking between ages 25 and 29, then leveling off or declining slightly thereafter. Prevalence estimates were similar across geographic regions: in Asia alone they were half that of other regions.
Italy provided data for the years 2005-2006 and the prevalence was 27% in men aged 18 to 45, 11% for the most carcinogenic genotypes.
Tumors of the pharynx
Most HPV infections in men and women are asymptomatic, but can lead to long-term sequelae and mortality. In men, the infection tends to manifest as anogenital warts, also associated with cancers of the penis, anus, and oropharynx (commonly linked to HPV type 16). The International Agency for Research on Cancer (AIRC) estimated that there were around 69,400 cases of cancer in men caused by HPV in 2018. Papillomavirus is the second pathogen responsible for cancer in the world.
In Italy it is estimated that every year the Papillomavirus (or HPV) is responsible for about 6,500 new cases of tumors in both sexes, about 12,000 high-grade anogenital lesions in women and at least 80,000 cases of genital warts in males and females.
In Italy, free vaccination for 12-year-old children
Yet the one caused by the papillomavirus is one of the few types of cancer against which one can be vaccinated: Italy was the first European country, in 2007, to plan a free immunization strategy for 12-year-old females, which since 2018 has also been extended to peers males. In recent years, then, some Regions have extended the offer to other age groups because the effectiveness of the vaccine has also been demonstrated in people who have already come into contact with the virus.
Statistics in hand, however, between 2019 and 2021 in Italy we dropped from 66% to 32% of vaccinated eleven-year-old females and from 54% to 26% of male peers.
By 2025, EU member states will have to protect 90% of girls (and significantly increase immunization in boys) and WHO has set a goal for 2030 to completely eliminate cervical cancer, caused by the papillomavirus .
September 4, 2023 (change September 4, 2023 | 08:03)
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