On Thursday, CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) discussed several topics relating to human papillomavirus vaccination. In addition to data on uptake, the committee reviewed whether HPV vaccination of males is cost-effective and should be recommended. Merck's Gardasil, the only HPV vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration for males, is marketed for male patients ages 9-26 to prevent genital warts caused by HPV types 6 and 11.
"In fact, 50 percent of patients who end up being diagnosed in an STD clinic didn't even notice [genital warts] or were not overly concerned about them," said ACIP member Dr. Franklyn Judson, a professor at the University of Colorado.
"I would say that the men that I see would rate genital warts on the quality scale just above death," said Dr. James C. Turner, an ACIP liaison from the American College Health Association. The warts are a concern, he said, "not because of the medical consequences, but because of the social consequences."
HPV is the cause of most cervical cancers, as well as anal cancers and some head and throat cancers. At the meeting, Dr. Richard M. Haupt of Merck Research Labs presented data on Gardasil's efficacy against lesions that can lead to anal cancers. Another study suggested that when female vaccine uptake is as low as it is now, vaccinating males is not as cost-effective as improving the female rate. When female uptake is high, vaccinating males still is not cost-effective, it said.
Anal cancer rates have risen in recent years, partly because gay men with HIV have been living longer. Less than 1 percent of boys ages 11-17 have received an HPV vaccination, while up to 15 percent of men on some college campuses have gotten the shots, Turner said.
11/01/10
UNITED STATES: US Panel Debates Value of HPV Vaccine for Boys
Source: New York Times (10.29.10):: Gardiner Harris; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention