From 1998 to 2003, human papillomavirus (HPV) caused an estimated 25,000 cancer cases in the United States, CDC said Monday. The leading cause of cervical cancer, HPV is also linked to anal and penile cancers and cancers of the mouth and throat.
CDC looked at 38 states and Washington, D.C., and found nearly 7,400 cases of HPV-linked mouth and throat cancers affecting almost 5,700 men and 1,700 women. "There were more than 3,000 HPV-associated anal cancers per year - about 1,900 in women in 1,100 in men," the agency said.
"This gives us baseline data to measure the impact of HPV vaccine and cervical cancer screening programs in reducing the incidence of cervical cancer and other HPV-associated cancers and precancers," said CDC's Dr. Mona Saraiya.
Merck & Co.'s vaccine Gardasil targets HPV strains associated with 70 percent of cervical cancers and 90 percent of genital warts. The vaccine is recommended for young females before they become sexually active. GlaxoSmithKline's competing vaccine Cervarix is not yet approved for sale in the United States.
Last month, a computer model study by Dr. Maura Gillison of Johns Hopkins University found that vaccinating women up to age 45 against HPV could prevent additional cases of cervical cancer, even though the vaccines do not offer protection for anyone who has already been infected with one of the targeted strains.
Gillison said CDC's new findings suggest a broad need for screening both men and women for HPV. "Currently available HPV vaccines have the potential to reduce the rates of HPV-associated cancers, like oral and anal cancers, that are currently on the rise and for which there is no effective or widely applied screening programs," she said.
CDC's reports on HPV were published in the journal Cancer (2008;113(S10)).
11/03/08
UNITED STATES: Wart Virus Caused 25,000 Cancers in Five Years: CDC
Source: Reuters:: Maggie Fox; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention