In addition to warts, HPV infections increase the risk of cancer, and not just in women. Though most correlated with cervical cancer, an HPV infection is associated with cancers in the penile, anal and oral tract regions.
Penile and anal:
Though penile cancer is not exceedingly common, it is associated with high morbidity in later stages. Treatment often involves surgery but could also use radiation. At times it may be geared towards relieving symptoms, as it is a sensitive area (1). HPV DNA is present in about 20% of penile tumor cases (2).
HPV is also associated with anal cancer. According to the Anal Cancer Foundation (ACF), it is responsible for about 91% of anal cancer (3). Anal cancer typically shows up in older populations, around the age of 60. Treatment is limited, as there is “no FDA-approved chemotherapy drug specific to anal cancer” (4). It may involve chemotherapy, radiation or surgery.
OPC:
HPV is responsible for approximately 70% of oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer (OPC). This form of HPV is fairly prevalent in the adult population (around 4%). Interestingly, it is more prevalent in males than females, particularly in middle-aged white men, and has increased in incidence within the past 2 decades. Risk can be increased by smoking and having more than 5 oral sex partners (5). Statistics project the incidence of OPC to surpass that of cervical cancer (5), which reinforces the fact that HPV does indeed impact men too.
My brother was diagnosed with throat cancer. Our parents blamed the occasional joint he enjoyed (as in once a month), but after my research I can’t help but wonder if this was also to blame.
References:
1. Treating penile cancer. (n.d.). American Cancer Society | Information and Resources about for Cancer: Breast, Colon, Lung, Prostate, Skin. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/penile-cancer/treating.html
2. Kidd, L. C., Chaing, S., Chipollini, J., Giuliano, A. R., Spiess, P. E., & Sharma, P. (2017). Relationship between human papillomavirus and penile cancer—implications for prevention and treatment. Translational Andrology and Urology, 6(5), 791-802. https://doi.org/10.21037/tau.2017.06.27
3. What is HPV? (2020, December 9). The Anal Cancer Foundation. https://www.analcancerfoundation.org/anal-cancer/what-is-anal-cancer/hpv-cancer/
4. What is anal cancer? (2021, January 6). The Anal Cancer Foundation. https://www.analcancerfoundation.org/anal-cancer/what-is-anal-cancer/
5. D’Souza, G., McNeel, T., & Fakhry, C. (2017). Understanding personal risk of oropharyngeal cancer: Risk-groups for oncogenic oral HPV infection and oropharyngeal cancer. Annals of Oncology, 28(12), 3065-3069. https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdx535