A sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer is also to blame for half of all causes of cancer of the penile, Spanish researchers said. The finding suggests already available human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines for cervical cancer are also likely to be effective in the fight against penile cancer.
Merck & Co's Gardasil and Glaxo Smith Kline's Cervarix are both used widely to immunize girls against HPV infection, which can lead to cancer of the cervix.
Penile cancer is much rarer, accounting for less than 1% of adult male cancers in Europe and North America, although the incidence can be as high as 10% in parts of Africa and Asia. Worldwide there are more than 26,000 new cases every year. Researchers reviewed cases of penile cancer reported in clinical studies between 1986 and 2008 and found 46.9% of tumors were associated with HPV.
Be aware, nearly all of these were linked to HPV 16 and 18, the two types that most commonly cause cervical cancer and which are targeted by Gardasil and Cervarix - Journal of Clinical Pathology.
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