Silent Cancer Epidemic Spreading Among Men: Study

A silent epidemic of head and neck cancer, caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), is spreading among American men, according to a new University of Florida study out this week.

Most people get over HPV infections without suffering any symptoms, according the researchers, NBC News reports.

But in some people, it stays in the infected tissues and causes DNA damage that, years later, causes a tumor to grow.

“The predicted probability of high-risk oral HPV infection was greatest among black participants, those who smoked more than 20 cigarettes daily, current marijuana users, and those who reported 16 or more lifetime vaginal or oral sex partners,” the researchers wrote.

HPV is the biggest cause of cervical cancer and certain types of head and neck cancers called oropharyngeal cancers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Between 2008 and 2012, about 39,000 people were diagnosed with a cancer caused by HPV every year in the U.S., 59 percent of them women and 41 percent men, the UF team reported.

But while the Pap smear and, more lately, HPV tests have reduced rates of cervical cancer, rates of oral cancer are growing.

Unlike a Pap smear for cervical cancer, there’s no reliable test for oral HPV. The HPV vaccine can prevent infection, but once someone’s already infected — and that’s most people over age 26 — the shot doesn’t help.

That leaves several generations of Americans vulnerable to these head and neck cancers, the researchers noted.