In the United States, the number of people with anal cancer is increasing significantly. It is triggered by HP viruses that are transmitted through sexual intercourse.
In recent years, the number of people affected by anal cancer has more than doubled, and thus the death rate in the US. The disease is caused to 90 percent by human papillomavirus (HPV), which are also a major cause of cervical cancer and transmitted through sexual intercourse. It is therefore possible to lower the number of cases by vaccinating against HPV, according to physicians around Ashish Deshmukh from the UTHealth School of Public Health in Houston in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Measured against other tumors such as lung or colon cancer, anal cancer is relatively rare with around 4500 reported new cases per year, but it is often fatal – also because the disease is still stigmatized and precautionary studies are spared. The risk for certain groups of people has increased significantly, including African Americans born after 1985 and women of Caucasian descent.
Measured by the growth rates of over three percent per year, the doctors recommend vaccination against HPV, which is already showing initial success in cervical cancer . However, it is mainly given to young women, but is now also recommended for boys. However, the vaccination rate is still relatively low in the US and Germany, at less than 50 percent. A herd protection is therefore not yet available.
Every year, 4,800 men (annually die in 1924) in Germany suffer from anal, penile and head and neck cancer. In the latter, tongue, tonsils and the mouth and throat area may be affected. The increase in these types of tumors in recent decades is mainly caused by HPV16, which is one of the most common HP viruses in Europe.