A study found that almost one in three men worldwide is infected with at least one genital human papillomavirus (HPV), further evidencing the importance of including men in vaccination strategies.
The study, published in the leading scientific journal The Lancet on Tuesday (15 August), estimated that the global pooled prevalence for genital HPV infection among men is 31% for any HPV and 21% for high-risk HPV, on the basis of data from 65 studies conducted between Jan 1 1995, and June 1 2022.
“Sexually active men, regardless of age, are an important reservoir of HPV genital infection,” the study said.
The findings underline the need for men to be incorporated into comprehensive HPV prevention strategies to reduce HPV-related morbidity and mortality and ultimately achieve the elimination of cervical cancer and other HPV-related diseases.
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted viral infection worldwide, with most sexually active men and women acquiring at least one genital HPV infection during their lives.
Over 200 HPV types can be transmitted sexually, while at least 12 types are carcinogenic, or cancer-causing.
While the majority of HPV infections in men and women are asymptomatic, they can lead to further serious health issues, such as cervical cancer as well as penile, anal, and oropharyngeal cancers.
In the EU, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer after breast cancer to affect women aged 15–44 years.
Each year, there are around 33,000 cases of cervical cancer in the EU and 15,000 deaths. The primary cause of cervical cancer is a persistent infection of the genital tract by some specific types of human papillomavirus (HPV).
Importance of vaccination
HPV vaccines have been available in the EU since 2006, and have become increasingly accessible over time in Europe and worldwide. At the moment three prophylactic HPV vaccines have been granted a license for use in Europe, a bivalent, a quadrivalent and a nine-valent vaccine according to the number of types of HPV they contain.
The Eurosurveillance report praised EU/EEA countries’ overall move towards a gender-neutral HPV vaccination strategy which also vaccinates men, though some countries still only vaccinate women.
“The indirect protection from vaccination of girls with suboptimal uptake” is not “sufficient to adequately protect males”, the report said. Furthermore, that strategy fails to account for men who have sex with men. Vaccinating both sexes helps protect “against sudden drops in vaccine uptake” and would be more effective in reducing virus circulation in the general public, the authors urge.
The EU’s push to eliminate cancer, including vaccine-preventable cancers, continues. Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, launched in 2021 and considered “a key pillar of the European Health Union”, set a target of vaccinating at least 90% of girls for HPV by the age of 15 and increasing the vaccination of boys by 2030.
In the third quarter of 2023, it is expected that the Commission will present an EU Council recommendation on vaccine-preventable cancers, which touch on HPV as well as other cancers, such as hepatitis B virus. These actions will include reducing physical obstacles to vaccination, targeted communication, and fighting mis- and disinformation.
According to the implementation roadmap, the vaccination plan is already in place and being distributed, and the roadmap will be updated in the next months.
[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]