Boys should get HPV vaccine to protect them from throat cancers, experts say (UK)
The Telegraph 10 July 2016
Boys should be given the HPV vaccine along with girls in a bid to curb the rise in throat cancers later in life, experts say.
Since 2008, girls aged 12 and 13 in the UK have been given a vaccination for the human papilloma virus (HPV), which protects them not only from genital warts but also cervical and throat cancers.
But researchers want boys of the same age to be also included in the government programme.
“If we want to eradicate male throat cancers – which are soaring in numbers – we need to act speedily and that means giving them the HPV vaccine we now give to girls,” Professor Mark Lawler, of Queen’s University Belfast, told the Observer.
Increased levels of oral sex are partly to blame for the spread of HPV, according to experts.
“Smoking and alcohol add to risks, but the fact that couples are having more and more oral sex is the main factor,” Peter Baker, campaign director of HPV Action, told the newspaper.
READ MORE: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/09/boys-should-get-hpv-vaccine-to-protect-them-from-throat-cancers/
