Information for men who have sex with women
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the name for a group of viruses that affect the skin and moist areas around the body. (It is completely different from HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.)
There are around 200 types of HPV. Many are harmless. But some types are dangerous and can cause cancer while others cause genital warts.
HPV infection is very common – it is spread by sexual contact.
Condoms reduce the risk but do not eliminate it because HPV can infect areas not covered by a condom. (Some studies suggest that deep kissing spreads HPV but this has not been proven.)
Vulnerable areas for HPV infection in males include the penis, anus, mouth and throat.
You cannot catch the dangerous types of HPV from toilet seats, hugging, holding hands, swimming pools or hot tubs or sharing food or cutlery.
Nearly all sexually active people will be exposed to HPV at some point in their lives. Because the infection is so common, many people are infected shortly after becoming sexually active for the first time. A person who has had only one sexual partner can get HPV although people who have many partners, or who have sex with someone who has had many partners, are more at risk.
Most people with HPV don’t know they are infected and never develop a health problem as a result. HPV usually goes away on its own without any long-term consequences. Having HPV does not mean you will automatically get cancer or genital warts. But HPV infection can persist in some people and cause health problems, sometimes years later.
It is not possible to predict which people with HPV will go to develop health problems but people with weak immune systems are thought to be more at risk. People with HIV/AIDS are among those at greater risk. Smoking may also be a factor.
HPV vaccination is by far the best way of preventing infection and the diseases caused by the virus.
The high-risk types of HPV include HPV 16 and 18. These types can cause cancer. Genital warts are caused by HPV 6 and 11. The cancer-causing and wart-causing types are different. This means that genital warts are not an early-warning sign of cancer.
HPV is estimated to cause 5% of all cancers. Doctors who treat cancer have found that HPV can cause cancers of the penis, anus, head and neck in men. About 2,000 men a year in the UK develop a cancer caused by HPV and some of these cancers are becoming more common.
Head and neck cancers
The clinical evidence shows that HPV causes cancer in different parts of the head and neck, especially the oropharynx. (The oropharynx includes the back third of the tongue, the soft area at the back of the roof of the mouth, the tonsils and the back wall of the throat.) Up to three quarters of oropharyngeal cancer cases are caused bv HPV. This cancer mostly affects men – they are twice as likely to be affected as women. Mouth and throat cancers caused by HPV have become far more common over the past 30 years, a trend that is expected to continue over the next 20 years.
Anal cancer
HPV causes the vast majority (90%) of anal cancer cases. This cancer is relatively rare in the UK with around 430 new cases in men in the UK in 2014 (it is about twice as common in women). But the number of cases in men is expected to more than double in the period up to 2035. Anal cancer is much more common in men who have sex with other men. Over 140 men in the UK died from anal cancer in 2014.
Penile cancer
Clinical studies suggest that HPV infection causes up to half (48%) of penile cancer cases. This cancer is relatively rare in the UK: there were around 630 new cases in the UK in 2014, an average of two new cases every day. However, penile cancer is becoming more common with 25% more cases now being diagnosed each year than in the early 1990s. There were 130 penile cancer deaths in 2014.
Genital warts
HPV causes genital warts, the second most common sexually transmitted infection. In men, warts can develop on the penis, scrotum, urethra (the tube which urine goes through from the bladder to the penis), the upper thighs and on, or inside, the anus. Both men and women are affected but the problem is much more common in men. UK-wide data on the number of cases of warts is not available but HPV Action estimates that about 40,000 cases are diagnosed in men each year.
Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP)
People with RRP have wart-like growths on their airways. These can seriously affect breathing. RRP affects both children and adults. Children are infected while still in the womb or at birth. Males and females are about equally affected.
Doctors treating breathing diseases have found that HPV is the cause of this rare but distressing problem. It can affect children as well as adults of both sexes and can be difficult to cure.
Men in the UK are not eligible for free HPV vaccinations on the NHS. But it is still possible to get a private vaccination.
Many doctors now advise vaccinations for all men and women up to the age of 26. This is now officially recommended in the USA. In the UK, boys (and girls) who miss out on the free NHS HPV vaccination when they are in school Year 8 in England and Wales, Year S1 in Scotland or Year 9 in Northern Ireland can continue to get the vaccine up to the age of 25. In the USA, men and women over 26 and up to 45 (the maximum age for vaccination) are advised to discuss vaccination with a doctor.
These are the main arguments for having a private vaccination, at least up to the age of 26:
- Men are as susceptible to HPV infection as women and vaccination provides a high level of protection against the most dangerous HPV types that cause cancer, genital warts or RRP.
- Vaccination offers protection against infection for at least 10 years and probably for much longer.
- Vaccination is most effective when a male is aged under 15 because, at that age, he is unlikely to have been exposed to HPV. But vaccination is still a good idea for adults because it can protect against high-risk types of HPV that you may not have been exposed to yet. It can also prevent re-infection by a high-risk type that you may already have been exposed to but which your body has previously cleared.
- Although men cannot get HPV from a woman who has been vaccinated, over 15% of girls are not currently vaccinated in the UK. Also, men can get HPV from a woman who was too old to be vaccinated by the NHS (vaccination started for girls in the UK in 2008) or from a woman from another country where there is no vaccination programme for girls or a programme with a low uptake (in France, for example, only about a quarter of girls are vaccinated).
- There is no screening programme for men that can detect cancers caused by HPV at an early stage (there is no male equivalent of the cervical cancer screening programme).
- Vaccination could offer you peace of mind.
- Vaccination is socially responsible – the more people who are protected, the less easily HPV can circulate in the whole population and affect unvaccinated men and women.
If you consider yourself to be straight but nevertheless have sex with other men, perhaps only occasionally, you could be at greater risk of HPV infection and the diseases it causes. You should therefore also take a look at the section of this site aimed at men who have sex with men.
Yes. These are the arguments against vaccination:
- HPV vaccination for men is expensive. Typically, it costs about £150 per dose. Men aged 15 and over need three doses.
- HPV vaccination can sometimes cause side-effects, almost always mild and short-lived such as soreness, swelling and redness in the arm. There is more information on the safety of the HPV vaccine here.
- Most HPV infections do not lead to a health problem – only a small proportion of people with HPV go on to develop cancer or another disease caused by HPV.
- Men who have sex with women who have been vaccinated will not be exposed to HPV. Most women now in their teens and early/mid 20s, who were in school in the UK when they were 12/13 years old, have been vaccinated. However, until 2012, the make of vaccine (Cervarix) offered to girls in the UK did not protect against the HPV types that cause genital warts.
- The older you are, and the more partners you have had, the more likely you are to have already been exposed to the high-risk HPV types. This means that vaccination may not actually be of any benefit. There is no way of knowing this, however.
- Vaccination does not provide a cure or treatment for an existing HPV infection.
Your NHS GP service is very unlikely to be able to provide HPV vaccination for boys or straight men. If it is available, it would be on a private basis.
HPV vaccination is now provided for adult men at three national pharmacy chains: Boots, Lloyds and Superdrug.
The vaccination is also available from a number of private health centres and travel clinics. An online search along the lines of “Where can I get HPV vaccination privately in [insert nearest town/city] UK” should be helpful.
If you have sex with men as well as women, even if this is occasional, you may be eligible for free HPV vaccinations provided at sexual health (GUM) and HIV clinics. See the section of this site aimed at men who have sex with men about this.
The vaccination service for men who have sex with men was set up because they are at greater risk of HPV infection and the diseases it causes.
Three types of vaccine are available:
- Cervarix. This vaccine was used by the NHS in the early years of the girls’ vaccination programme. It protects against two HPV types (16 and 18) that can cause pre-cancers and cancers of the cervix, vulva, vagina and anus. Cervarix does not offer protection against the HPV types (6 and 11) that cause genital warts. It can be given from the age of 9.
- Gardasil. This is the vaccine currently used for girls by the NHS for the national HPV vaccination programme. It can be given from the age of 9 and protects against infection by the four most significant HPV types, 16 and 18 that can cause cancer and 6 and 11 that can cause genital warts. It is used to prevent pre-cancers and cancers of the cervix, vulva, vagina and anus as well as genital warts.
- Gardasil 9. This is the newest HPV vaccine available. It protects against 9 HPV types, 16,18 and five others that can cause cancer and 6 and 11 that can cause genital warts. It can be given from the age of 9 years to prevent pre-cancers and cancers of the cervix, vulva, vagina and anus as well as genital warts.
The vaccine manufacturers do not claim that their products protect against the development of HPV-caused penile, head and neck cancers. However, most scientists, doctors and dentists believe that, due to the similarities in the diseases, the vaccines do offer protection against these cancers. The UK government’s vaccination advisory committee (known as JCVI) is among those sharing this view.
If you are aged 15-45, the vaccine is given through a course of 3 injections over 4-12 months. The second dose is given at least one month after the first. The third is at least three months after the second dose (and ideally within 12 months of the first dose).
You can listen to the podcasts.
For more information on head and neck cancers:
- Throat Cancer Foundation
- Mouth Cancer Foundation
- Oral Health Foundation
- Mouth Cancer Awareness Month
- Cancer Research UK
- The Swallows
- Oral Cancer Foundation (USA)
For more information on anal cancer:
For more information on penile cancer:
For more information on genital warts:
For more information on RRP:
For more information on vaccine safety:
You can also read the section on this site for health professionals which is more detailed and contains links to background information.
Pharmacy chains offering the vaccine to men:
Share page: