HPV & Oropharyngeal Cancer
(CDC)cites the human papilloma virus—HPV—as the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. The virusspreadsthroughintimatesexualcontact, causinginfections that are so common, that “nearly all men and women will get at least one type of HPV at some time in their lives.”
Most infections are asymptomatic, undetected and resolved by the body’s immune system.Less commonly,the infectioncan be persistent,progressingto cancer in both women and men later in life.
HPV's connection to oropharyngeal cancers
Oropharyngeal cancer—cancer of the oropharynx, which includesthetongue, tongue-base, tonsils, and soft palett—nowisthe most common cancer caused by HPV, having surpassed cervical cancer in incidence in 2015. Itis thought to cause 70%or moreof oropharyngeal cancers in the United States.
The game-changerinHPVprevention came in 2006, whenthe Food andDrugAssociation (FDA)approved a vaccine calledҲ岹®.The FDA’sindications and recommendations foreligible ages for the vaccine(an updated version called Gardasil 9®)haveover time, and now includesboth males and females up to age 45,andnow with indication for preventingHPV-associated head and neck cancer,in addition totheprior anogenital indications.
Causes oforopharyngeal cancers
“Te landscape of cancers of the oropharynx has shifted dramatically in the last 20 or 30 years,” says AndrewTassler, MD,assistant professor of otolaryngology, Weill Cornell Medical College, and assistant attending otolaryngologist,NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
Themajority of oropharyngealcancers seen at that timewereassociatedmore with tobacco and alcohol consumption,notrelatedto HPV,Dr.Tasslersaid.
“Terehas basically been aflip in the epidemiology—in my practice now, probably 80 to 90 percent oforopharyngeal cancers areHPV related,” he says, adding that the typical patient with this type of cancer is male, Caucasian, and between the ages of 55to 65, with minimal exposure to alcohol and tobacco.Dr. Tassler estimates that10 to 20 percent of the oropharyngeal cancer patients he sees are women.
Minimizing transmission and risks
In addition to receiving the Gardasil 9®vaccine,theusingcondoms and dental dams consistently andproperlyduring oral sex,which may help lower the chances oftransmittingorcontractingHPV.
Although there is no specific screening fororopharyngealcancer,like something akin to a pap smear to detect cervical cancer,Dr. Tasslersays some patients mayexperiencesymptoms,including a lumpin the neck or throat,difficulty swallowing orpainful swallowing, andpossibly change in their voice.can include trouble breathing or speaking; a feeling that something is caught in the throat;orthroat pain that won’t go away.
“Generally speaking,patients who present withHPV-associatedoropharyngeal cancersdo quite well, and their condition is usually highly treatable and curable,” Dr.Tasslersays.“The five-year survival rate is 90-plus percentfor the majority of patients, he adds—and the HPV vaccineaddslong-term optimismto the picture.”
to stay up to date on all the latest health news and important updates from سԹ.