May 20, 2008 11:26 pm US/Eastern
More Men Are Developing Oral Cancer From STD
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
There's a growing population of young men with head and neck cancer not caused by alcohol or tobacco.
Instead, it's caused by human papillomavirus or HPV. That's the same sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer in women.
Johns Hopkins researchers are now working feverishly to determine whether the same vaccine that protects girls from HPV also works on boys.
Sally Thorner has the health story that could save your life.
We can't help but get the message: girls need to be vaccinated for HPV. It may surprise you that in the not too distant future guys could be next.
Before Roy Rada settled down as a Baltimore County professor with a family, he took part in the sexual revolution of the 60s and 70s.
"I was promiscuous, probably more than average," Rada admitted.
Kevin McConnell of Annapolis wasn't far behind.
"I wouldn't call myself promiscuous, but I wasn't a saint either," said McConnell.
These Maryland men are part of a growing population of young men with oral cancer not caused by tobacco or alcohol. Instead, HPV caused the disease.
"There's no way of proving where I got it. But they believe that the HPV was gotten from oral sex," explained McConnell.
In fact, from 1973 to 2004 the number of HPV-related oral cancer cases spiked 80%, particularly among younger white men.
Dr. Maura Gillison, a leading researcher at Johns Hopkins Hospital, is credited with discovering the link between oral cancer and HPV, the same virus that causes cervical cancer in women.
HPV is a sexually transmitted infection that often goes undetected but 80% of Americans will have it at some point.
McConnell's symptoms started with a sore throat and pain in his ears. He eventually needed radiation to kill the cancerous tumor in his tongue.
Rada developed a lump in his neck about six years ago. He figured the lump was a cyst until doctors determined it was cancer.
Had either of our patients and their doctors realized their sexual histories were relevant, they could have been diagnosed earlier and had easier treatment.
"If doctors don't know that this is a possibility then we really have a challenge here," said McConnell.
Girls are now protected from HPV with the vaccine Gardasil. Researchers like Dr. Gillison want to know if that same vaccine works on boys.
"If we see that data and the vaccine appears to be protective in men as it has been for women, we expect that the FDA would look at that favorably," Dr. Gillison said.
She also says those results should be available in about a year.
That's good news for McConnell and Rada, who each have a daughter and a son they intend to get vaccinated.
"Time is too short. Life is too precious," said Rada.
It's important to talk to your doctor and tell him or her your sexual history from the beginning. That information could save your life.
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