By Mary Ann Moon
Approximately half of men of all ages were infected with genital human papillomavirus, according to a prospective study of three urban areas in the United States, Brazil, and Mexico.
In addition, men’s risk for acquiring HPV did not decline with age as it does in women, but appeared to remain stable throughout their lifetimes, said Dr. Anna R. Giuliano of the risk assessment, detection, and intervention program at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, and her associates.
The Lancet published the study online March 1.
The researchers examined the incidence and clearance of genital HPV among men because little is known about the subject. Optimal strategies for preventing the disease both in men and in their sexual partners cannot be devised until more is known about its epidemiology in men, they said.
The prospective HPV in Men (HIM) study involved 1,427 men in Tampa, 1,443 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and 1,429 in Cuernavaca, Mexico, who were examined for HPV infection at 6-month intervals for a median of 27.5 months. The men were aged 18-70 years at baseline, with a median age of 32 years. All subjects were HIV negative and had no history of cancer.
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