[건강칼럼] Should men get cervical cancer injections too?
Koh Yeong-ho, Director of Health Promotion Clinic, Busan West Branch, Korea Health Care Association
Recently, an increasing number of young men are seeking obstetrics and gynecology. It is to receive the HPV vaccine, which was called the so-called ‘cervical cancer vaccine’. HPV has been known to cause cervical cancer in women, but recently, the voice that men should also prevent HPV is getting louder. Find out why men should get the HPV vaccine too.
Unfamiliar HPV? 5% of all cancers are attributed to HPV
There are more than 200 types of HPV (Human Papilloma Virus), which are common in both men and women. Of these, more than 40 types are transmitted through direct sexual contact. Even if you are infected with HPV, most of them are asymptomatic and go away on their own. However, if continuously infected, it causes diseases such as cervical cancer, vaginal cancer, and vulvar cancer in women, and head and neck cancer, anal cancer, and genital warts in men. HPV infection is known to cause more than 600,000 cancers annually worldwide, accounting for regarding 5.2% of all cancers.
Increase in ‘cervical cancer’ among young people in Korea
The most representative of HPV-related diseases is cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is a fatal disease that ranks fourth in cancer mortality among women aged 15-44 worldwide. According to the Catalan Institute of Oncology/International Agency for Research on Cancer (ICO) in Spain in 2019, there were 569,847 newly diagnosed cases of cervical cancer worldwide and an average of 853 deaths per day due to cervical cancer. The trend of cervical cancer patients in Korea is also a situation that requires attention. According to the trend in the number of cervical cancer patients by year announced by the Health Care Big Data Open System, the number of patients increased by 8.5% from 59,910 in 2017 to 65,013 in 2021. What should be noted is that relatively young cervical cancer patients in their 30s and 40s account for 35.9% and are showing an increasing trend.
HPV vaccination is the only way to prevent HPV
Fortunately, HPV can be prevented through vaccination. This is because HPV infection was found in 99.7% of cervical cancer patients, and the cause, unlike other cancers, has been clearly identified. HPV vaccines currently available in hospitals are bivalent, quadrivalent, and 9 valent vaccines. In 2016, 10 years following the first HPV vaccine was introduced in Korea in 2006, a 9-valent vaccine that can prevent the most types of HPV currently available was released. This 9-valent vaccine covers a total of nine HPV types, including types 6 and 11 that cause genital warts and types 16, 18, 52, and 58 that can develop into cancer. The range of cancer prevention, such as genital warts, cervical cancer, anal cancer, vaginal cancer, and vulvar cancer, is also wide at 90%. In 2020, the vaccination age for the 9-valent vaccine has been expanded to 45-year-old women, so women can be vaccinated between the ages of 9-45 and men between the ages of 9-26.
Both men and women need HPV vaccination
Recently, while the need for HPV vaccination for men has emerged, many questions have been raised regarding why men who do not yet have a uterus should receive HPV vaccination. However, HPV vaccination for men is beneficial for men’s health management. In addition, both men and women benefit greatly from vaccination. According to the global cervical cancer eradication plan announced by the World Health Organization (WHO), most HPV types, including HPV type 16, can be eradicated within 30 years when the male and female HPV vaccination rate achieves 75%.
In addition to herd immunity, HPV male disease must be prevented. Genital warts, the most common HPV disease in men, have tripled in the past decade. In particular, the incidence rate was high in young males (25-29 years old) who were relatively sexually active. The reason why HPV vaccine is an important alternative for men is that the average rate of natural antibody production once morest HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18 in men is low at 7.7%. This means that there is no way to prevent HPV infection without vaccination.
Recently, oropharyngeal cancer in men is increasing, so more attention is needed. In the United States, the incidence of oropharyngeal cancer, a type of head and neck cancer, surpassed cervical cancer as the most common HPV-related cancer in 2015. The domestic situation is the same. According to statistics from related academic societies, the incidence of head and neck cancer in Korea has increased by 35% over the past 10 years (2010-2019).
HPV vaccination available at a nearby medical facility
If you have sexual experience, some people hesitate to get vaccinated due to the rumor that HPV vaccine is ineffective, but vaccination is meaningful regardless of sexual experience. It is true that vaccination is the best time to get vaccinated before the start of sexual experience, but even if you have already been infected with HPV through sexual experience, you can prevent other types of viruses that cause HPV infections. There is no reason to hesitate to get vaccinated like the proverb, ‘when you think it’s too late is the fastest time’.
In a situation where the cause of cancer is still unknown, HPV vaccination alone is a great advantage to prevent HPV, which causes 5% of all cancers. HPV vaccine can be administered in various departments, including obstetrics and gynecology and urology. In the future, it is recommended that not only women under the age of 45, but also young men in their 20s be vaccinated to prevent HPV.