Did you know that HPV causes cancer? You did? Well, did you know which kind? From the NY Times:
Throat cancers caused by a virus transmitted during oral sex have increased significantly in the United States in recent years, researchers reported on Monday.
The virus is the same one that causes many cases of cervical cancer: human papillomavirus (HPV) Type 16.
Researchers tested tumor samples from 271 patients with certain types of throat cancer diagnosed from 1984 to 2004. The virus was found in only 16 percent of the samples from the 1980s — but in 72 percent of those collected after 2000.
The researchers estimated that over all, throat cancers caused by the virus have increased to 2.6 per 100,000 people in 2004 from 0.8 cases per 100,000 people in 1988. If the trend continues, by 2020 the virus will be causing more throat cancer than cervical cancer, the study concluded.
Doctors in the United States and other countries had already noticed increases in throat cancers caused by HPV, but the extent was unclear.
“This is the first definitive evidence that these changes at the population level are indeed caused by HPV infection,” said Dr. Maura L. Gillison, the senior author of the new study and the chairwoman of cancer research at Ohio State University.
So, if you thought that there was a vaccine against the virus that causes throat and cervical cancer, that'd be a good thing, right? Except people don't want their kids to get it.
Last week in our Daily Kos/SEIU Weekly State of the Nation Poll, we asked if HPV should be required of girls entering sixth grade. Virginia already has such a law, and Texas did until the legislature overrode it. Given that it's a mandate, the results were disappointing but not surprising:
This week (full data), we played with the wording, and you know what? Even if you emphasize that HPV causes cancer, the public still doesn't want it, at least as a mandate.
Whether it should be mandated is an open question, but whether it should be offered is not (it definitely should be). And based on the recent data regarding throat cancer, I'd expect that the CDC and other advisory experts would reconsider whether it should be offered to boys as well as girls (it's currently recommended for girls and optional for boys).
Current policy:
CDC did not add this vaccine to the recommended immunization schedules for males in these age groups because studies suggest that the best way to prevent the most disease due to HPV is to vaccinate as many girls and women as possible. Parents of boys can decide if Gardasil is right for their sons by talking with their sons’ health care providers. Young men can also discuss this vaccine with their doctors.
Remember, current law mandates always have opt-outs for parents. But with or without a requirement, parents of boys and girls need to seriously consider getting this vaccine at the appropriate age (11-12 years old, before sexual activity takes place, for greatest efficacy).
Focusing on girls alone might have been good policy but it's bad politics. And given what we now know about throat cancer, it's not even clear that it remains good policy.