The human papilloma virus also causes penile cancer

The human papilloma virus also causes penile cancer

HPV causes cervical cancer in women, is also responsible for half of cancers of the penis

The same sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer in women is also responsible for half of the tumors in the penis, Spanish researchers reported recently.

Although tumors in the penis are much less frequent, representing less than 1 percent of cancers in male adults in Europe and North America, its incidence can reach 10 percent in some areas of Africa and Asia. It is estimated that worldwide there are over 26,000 new cases per year.

The finding suggests that vaccines currently available against human papillomavirus (HPV), used to prevent cervical tumors, could also be effective in fighting cancer of the penis, doctors said the Catalan Institute of Oncology in Barcelona.

The vaccine Gardasil, Merck & Co., and Cervarix, from GlaxoSmithKline, have been used for some years to immunize girls against HPV infection, which can lead to cervical cancer or cervical cancer.

Dr. Silvia de Sanjose and colleagues reviewed cases of penile cancer reported in clinical studies conducted between 1986 and 2008 and found that 46.9 percent of tumors were associated with HPV.

Almost all of these cases linked to the virus were linked to strains 16 and 18, the two most common types that commonly cause cervical cancer and targeting both Gardasil and Cervarix, wrote in the Journal of Clinical Pathology.

In November, Merck announced results of a clinical trial showing that Gardasil is effective in preventing injuries caused by the virus in men.

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