HPV Cancers on the Rise

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (KFSN) -- Fifteen thousand Americans are diagnosed with head and neck cancer every year. Men are four times as likely as women to develop this kind of cancer and the vast majority of the cases are caused by a sexually transmitted disease. Learn more about the cancer, the cause, and the best prevention against it.

Steve Wilson is a medical pathologist. He spends his days identifying dangerous diseases.

"I have a heightened sense of awareness of cancer, and maybe to some extent, fear of cancer," Wilson told Ivanhoe.

Wilson was on vacation in the Caribbean in December 2015 when he felt a lump on his neck. The lump was cancer.

He shared, "It was what I was expecting and what I was afraid of."

Umamaheswar Duvvuri, MD, an otolaryngologist at UPMC in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a head, neck and throat specialist. Dr. Duvvuri said at one time, oral cancer was linked primarily to smoking, but head and neck cancers are now more often caused by the sexually-transmitted human papillomavirus, HPV.

"The reality is there is no treatment for the viral infection itself, which is why we need to vaccinate people to prevent them from getting the virus to begin with," Dr. Duvvuri explained.

The CDC recommends boys and girls receive two doses of an HPV vaccine before they become sexually active. A new study found 93 percent of all HPV caused cancers were preventable with the vaccine. Still only 40 percent of all teen girls and 22 percent of the boys have been vaccinated.

Dr. Duvvuri told Ivanhoe, "I think nationwide we should have this mandated. I believe this vaccine is efficacious, and safe."

Wilson wishes the HPV vaccine had been an option years ago. He said "All of us who are 40 and above, we're all at risk for this, and we don't know if we're going to have it, or not have it."

Radiation and chemotherapy knocked back Wilson's cancer, now he's back helping detect disease in others.

According to the immunization action coalition, only Rhode Island, Virginia and the District of Columbia mandate middle school-aged children have the HPV vaccine. Since 2008, Canada has introduced HPV immunization programs for all adolescent girls between grades 4 and 7.

For More Information, Contact:

Ashley Trentrock, Manager

trentrockar@upmc.edu

412-586-9776