HPV and Their Relationship With an Oropharynx Cancer Among Males and Why This a New Public Health Concern

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About 45,000 new cases of head and neck cancers are occurring every year in United States. Among them, estimated 20% are human papilloma virus (HPV) infected cancers. The tonsil, base of tongue and lingual tonsil, other potentially HPV-associated oropharynx, oral tongue, other oral cavity, larynx, and other HPV-unrelated oropharynx are all to be considered to be different part of head and neck cancer (HNC) in the study (Ryerson et al., 2008).

The incidence of oropharyngeal carcinoma has been raised by 10.8% by 2004 since 1991. Distinctively, oroharynx cancer is prevalent biased toward men at least who are 50 years old of age than women. But this brings a new epidemiological concern because vast majority of men who has oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) were HPV-positive. For example, the study conducted in, Colorado is experiencing 36.6% increased incidence rate of oropharyngeal caner. The HPV-related oropharyngeal SCC among men enhanced 12 times greater in past 20 years (Ernster et al. 2007). There is a declining rate in laryngeal cancer; however, there is sharp increase trend of cancer in tonsil and fairly stable rate in other HNC related cancer (Ryerson et al. 2008). However, decreased tonsillectomies in United States for past 40 years may be contributing to greater susceptibility of HPV in the tonsils (Ernster et al., 2007).

This is brings up public health concern because HPV was usually widely known to infect mostly women and enforce to cause of cervical cancer. However, a head and neck cancer is also serious disease in worldwide by placing HNC as 5th most common cancer in 2008. Particularly, cohort studied from 1982 up to 2005 from Australia and Sweden showed HPV DNA positive incidence increased from about...

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