The human papillomavirus also makes men sick, and not only women, as the widespread thought in our society says. Mouth and pharynx cancers linked to HPV are growing by 15% annually and affect more men. Dr. Alvaro Vives, of the Fundació Puigvert, a Top Doctors center of excellence, is in favor of changing the current discrimination in the vaccine schedule.
Extending vaccination to girls is essential to curb the growth that is coming in the next decade, mainly due to the extension of the practice of oral sex. Until a few years ago, the only known relationship of the virus was with cervical cancer, a disease that has been curbed thanks to controls.
The problem with these vaccines is their price: more than 100 euros per dose. “The growth that children are experiencing with HPV forces us to think that decades from now we will be asking ourselves why we have not avoided them,” Dr. Vives told La Vanguardia. Today, according to the doctor, it would be feasible, since three doses would not be necessary as in the past, but only two. According to Dr. Vives, we would save some 106 million euros a year in Spain by avoiding 35% of the consultations on sexually transmitted diseases.
All boys and girls could be vaccinated to stop all HPV-related cancers within a few decades, according to the experts.