US rates of oral HPV infection

Abstract

Oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is three times more common in US males than in females, according to the results of a newly published large-scale study. As part of the National Health and Nutritional Survey, 5579 males and females aged 14–69 years were tested at mobile examination units. Analysis showed that 10·1% of men and 3·6% of women were positive for oral HPV infection (an overall rate of 6·9%). This, in turn, explains why rates of head and neck cancers are three times higher in males than females. “Our data supports the theory that men are the primary risk group for HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer”, coauthor Anil Chaturvedi (National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD, USA) told The Lancet Oncology.