Study: HPV vax important for men

Although HPV vaccines have been approved for young men, developers have yet to fully tap into the market. A new study has underlined the importance of the vaccine for men, and their partners as well.

According to the study, which tested the foreskins 133 men between seven months and 82 years of age, 18.8 percent tested positive for low-risk HPV genotypes and 9.77 percent had high-risk HPV. None of the men showed symptoms of HPV.

"From a public health perspective, the important implication is to show that HPV infection is very common--even in patients with no clinical symptoms. It supports the argument that we should consider vaccinating both boys and girls to prevent future health problems," said Dr. Tomas Griebling, vice chair of the urology department at the University of Kansas, told CNN.

HPV causes 70 percent of cervical cancers in women and is the most common sexually transmitted infection. It also causes genital warts, as well as penile and anal cancers in men.

- read the CNN blog post
- see the Health Day article

Related Articles:
Study: Gardasil effective in boys, men
HPV vax effective after longer dosing schedule
CDC: More teens getting their recommended shots