Head, neck cancers rise at alarming rate
Source: Agencies |
March 27, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE number of head and neck cancers linked to a virus spread by oral sex is rising rapidly and suggests boys as well as girls should be offered protection through vaccination, doctors said yesterday in Britain.
Despite an overall slight decline in head and neck cancers in recent years, cases of a particular form called oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) have increased sharply, particularly in the developed world.
This growth seems to be linked to cancers caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), scientists said in a report in the British Medical Journal.
Two vaccines -- Cervarix, made by GlaxoSmithKline, and Gardasil, made by Merck & Co -- can prevent HPV, which causes virtually all cases of cervical cancer, the second most common cancer in women worldwide.
Many rich nations have launched HPV immunization programs for girls to try to protect them from the common sexually transmitted virus before they become sexually active.
The scientists, led by Hisham Mehanna of the Institute of Head and Neck Studies at University Hospital Coventry, said while including boys in immunization plans has been seen as too expensive, it may be time to look again.
"We need to look at the evidence again to re-evaluate the cost-effectiveness of male children in light of this new and rapidly rising incidence," he said.
Analyst Savvas Neophytou at Panmure Gordon in London said such studies would dispel worries about sales prospects for HPV vaccines.
Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer among men and women, with about 640,000 new cases each year worldwide.
Despite an overall slight decline in head and neck cancers in recent years, cases of a particular form called oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) have increased sharply, particularly in the developed world.
This growth seems to be linked to cancers caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), scientists said in a report in the British Medical Journal.
Two vaccines -- Cervarix, made by GlaxoSmithKline, and Gardasil, made by Merck & Co -- can prevent HPV, which causes virtually all cases of cervical cancer, the second most common cancer in women worldwide.
Many rich nations have launched HPV immunization programs for girls to try to protect them from the common sexually transmitted virus before they become sexually active.
The scientists, led by Hisham Mehanna of the Institute of Head and Neck Studies at University Hospital Coventry, said while including boys in immunization plans has been seen as too expensive, it may be time to look again.
"We need to look at the evidence again to re-evaluate the cost-effectiveness of male children in light of this new and rapidly rising incidence," he said.
Analyst Savvas Neophytou at Panmure Gordon in London said such studies would dispel worries about sales prospects for HPV vaccines.
Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer among men and women, with about 640,000 new cases each year worldwide.
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