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So silly that they only pushed it for women in the first place. I remember in high school everyone thought it was a girl’s vaccine. Meanwhile it can affect both sexes.
Same thought. I asked for it when it came out, as a guy, and they told me I was too old, and probably already had it. Well thanks for overestimating my sex life, but can I still get the immunity to this widely spread cancer vector that we now have the ability to make us immune to? No, the answer was no. No checking, just no.
Same! I even offered to pay for it out of pocket if the issue was insurance not wanting to cover it for people over a certain age, and I was told that they still wouldn’t give me the vaccine. So frustrating!!!
I was in high school when it came out for girls and then by the time it was available for boys, I had already had to have warts lasered out of my asshole so they told me there's no point, you already got at least one of them.
Just got my third shot last month.
Get the HPV vaccine, y'all. Believe me when I say, it is not fun to have warts burned out of your asshole with electrocautery. You spend a lot of time in deep pain, spewing blood out of your anus into the toilet.
Remember that they didn’t give a damn about AIDS because it supposedly only happened to gay men, addicts or “those people” usually meaning non white.
There are parents who wouldn’t get the vaccine for their daughter because the girls aren’t supposed to have sex out of wedlock. I’m pretty sure a lot of people are going to also ignore the boys especially if they might be getting it from other boys.
Remember that there are doctors who cut fully 40% off the nerve endings off boys’ penises the day after they’re born. They manage to do this to over half the boys born in the USA. And they KNOW that but a single baby has consented to that. And they KNOW that almost no adult men (who weren’t cut as boys) come by to get that part of their anatomy removed. So the men who are able to make an informed choice about whether or not to get circumcised 99.5% of the time make the choice to keep all their body parts. And the doctors will cuts of the babies anyway, KNOWING it’s not what the baby boy would do for himself.
My point, I guess, is that medical ethics is just not all that ethical. They want it to be, they pretend like it is. It isn’t.
Don't forget the emotional and psychological effects! Becoming aware of what was done, what was lost, was a major cause to the only time I experienced psychosis.
There's some hope in restoration. There are devices that tension the skin and over time (several years) it lengthens, leading to dekeratinization, regain of mechanical sliding action. There are muscles and nerves that will not be restored but it's an option. One that gave me something to hold onto, no pun intended.
One day, hopefully soon, the practice will be eradicated for any non-medically necessary reasons (eg. If a circumcision of necrotic tissue could save the penis). Additionally, medical science is getting closer to growing bespoke organs and I understand there has been much relatively recent advancement in microsurgery and revascularization.
It still,for lack of a better term, triggers me when I see or hear the word or discussion of the action, and even somewhat when I hear or see words that even begin with circum-.
I'm in therapy but if anyone has any other resources, care to share with the class?
I had HPV throat cancer. It's a particular horrible treatment cycle. Thankfully, I did beat it. I was always too old to get the vaccination. If you're young enough, get the vaccination. 75% of all head and neck cancers are HPV related. A slight majority of those are men, like me.
I wonder if women even know about it. A friend of my family went through some very nasty “they burn out the inside of your throat” treatments to remove cancerous cells. Multiple treatments.
She was one of those cool, 1960s English party girls. For all I know she got it from Rod Stewart (didn’t ask of course).
But it’s not really discussed enough and I think many people who insist on condoms for vaginal or anal still won’t always do it for oral. It’s not as much fun :(
I came down with it last year, it's taken me a year to get healthy enough that I can work again, and even then it's with severe limitations. I'm guessing I'll need another 6-12 months before I feel mostly normal again, assuming it all heals properly. But am happy I beat it so far. fingers crossed
I'm 4 years passed treatment. It took me about 2 years for everything to get back to 'normal'. My salvia glands didn't reset to 100%. More like 80%, which I'm pleased with. I choke on some food easily now. Juicy grapes, fruits or so. My tastes buds changed a little bit, but overall, I'm happy with how I healed. All you can do is give it time. Glad you're on the other side.
A guy I knew just passed away a few months ago from cancer that started in his mouth & throat from HPV. He was old enough that he probably got it way before the vaccine was developed, but trust me when I say that you would not want to go through what he did on his way off this mortal coil.
Jfc. My 12 year old son is due for his next year at school and there's a whole heap of parents saying no. They should all have to sit down and watch your ted talk first. He's the only kid in his class that gets a flu shot every year and guess which kid was the only one not taken out with that this year?
It wouldn't matter to me if it was. At some point in a few years, I expect him to be having sex, and if there's one less STI for him to be able to catch and pass on, its absolutely worth it.
He's almost a teenager so its only a matter of time before he turns into a horny little toad, my only job is to teach consent and safe sex. I'll leave science to the scientists and trust their judgement.
Yep. But some people cannot handle that thought that you are responsibly expecting, and it's also been used as an angle by churches to get people to be against getting it.. even though marriage doesn't act to save you from HPV either, since it's so latent.
That’s the one they’re least likely to get. Tetanus and rabies are vaccines you can usually get the most rabid (heh) anti-vaxxers to take after exposure. But flu? Something that’s “just a bad cold?!” Yeah, people who are even slightly vaccine hesitant skip their flu shot. :/
I've been considering it as well in Canada. I think the cost is like $550, which is pretty damn steep. I've been single for a while, but if I start dating again I'll likely shell out the money for it.
I didn't get it when it was first available because religious nut parents.
Got it in 2023.2024 at 40/41 years of age. This was after trying to get my health insurance to cover if for several years, and them refusing to do so. In the US it worked out to be $990 for all three doses. Well worth it, but it would have been nice if the insurance I pay $500 a month for to have covered something.
What? There might be options to get it for free, but I'm sure that would depend on your province. I'm in BC and they just gave it to me for free. It'd be worth looking into.
People should know that it doesn't just protect your partner, it protects you as well, even if you don't have a cervix or no one in your relationship has a cervix.
In addition to cervical cancer, HPV is linked to cancers of the penis, anus, vulva, vagina, and mouth and throat. Source
So a plumbing virus? Basically the equivalent to corrosion on your pipes going unnoticed until you have a huge flood in your home from a sudden gaping leak. but instead of copper or lead pipes, the gaping leak is in your anus or throat. Yay!
You can get it in the UK if you have sex with other men. Guess whose sexuality suddenly became just a bit more fluid when I approached the sexual health clinic?
That's awesome though. Another user from Canada said it would have cost him hundreds. I assume that's his province in particular but now I'm questioning if it's cause I was at a gay health clinic haha
As a guy, I was just planning on getting it. I have to pay out of pocket and it's like $250-350 but they will give it to me. I read that it reduces my risk of oral cancers by like 40-50% so it still seems like good insurance to get.
Yeah I was 3 months too old for it when it came out. Same story, just no.
Then they kept upping the age limit but it scaled, I was always too old for it. Finality they upped it to 45 and now I'm getting the series done. I've already dealt with HPV16 and persistent CIN3. My doctor told me there's new data out that says getting the HPV vaccine after having CIN3 can help protect against a recurrence. Plus there's 8 more strains I'm now protected from.
Genuine question as a male also in their 30s, what are the benefits for people like us to get it? I, too, was under the impression that 1. I was too old, and 2. I've probably had HPV already. I've always considered it but didn't know if it was worth it.
There are a lot of different strains. You might have had one or more (and hopefully cleared it), but you can still protect yourself and future partners against other strains.
For me it's a "why not" situation. It can't hurt and it could help.
Oh also awhile ago (I can't remember how many years) they finally started admitting it might protect boys against certain cancers too. (I don't recall offhand which, because I intended to get the vaccine either way.)
There are 200 different types of HPV viruses that can cause cancer (anal, cervical, throat, penile, etc) and genital warts. The vaccine protects against a few (not all). You’d be protecting yourself and partners.
There are over 200 strains of HPV, yes, but not all cause cancer. The ones that do are 16 and 18, which are responsible for the majority of the cancers, followed by 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 66 and 68. There are some questions about whether 66 actually causes cancer or not. The remaining strains can cause warts, or have no symptoms at all.
I was told the same thing! There should be a grace period off the record, cause it was just a year. That said I just recently got mine, I think the current shot doesn't have those same restrictions!
A few years ago they expanded the age range so now 9-45 yrs is approved. If you are older you can get your doctor to write you a prescription (you could say you are considering a new partner, or divorce, or getting into a poly relationship and want coverage), or you can pay the cash price (Costco member cash price says $285)
Actually in the US the answer is yes now. I'm over the age range but I just went online and scheduled an appointment at CVS to get it. No barriers. My insurance covered it
I went in to the doctor a few years ago and after checking my vaccine record he asked if I wanted the HPV one. I was almost 40 and already had plenty of sexual encounters, but he said it wouldn't hurt just to take it anyway.
I know two guys who had to get chemo for throat cancer from HPV (both in very long marriages). One in 50s and one in 30s. I (male) just got the vax in mid 40s. It's not as effective at this age, but any protection is better than none.
This is true for all the HPV-related cancers, including cervical cancer. I believe they are the only cancers not in decline over the past 20 years, despite being some of the fastest declining cancers prior to that.
Cancer rates in women under 50 have surpassed men for the first time. No idea why young women have seen worsening rates of cancer and lower survivability over the past 20 years.
It's voluntary for males in the military even though they're giving you a million other vaccines. When I asked about it they told me that it prevented like 90% of genital warts in males and I was sold
A doctor literally laughed at me for requesting the original vax because it was “for girls.” I was in my 20s and going out a lot so I got it anyways. I don’t begrudge him for it but I do remember thinking, “why the hell wouldn’t I get this?”
Trying to get a primary care physician to do any actual work besides treat you like an inconvenient assembly line is so difficult. We need continuous public health education or we're doomed to be as unremarkable as the fools playing doctor
Unfortunately the logic behind this is still very common.
Why should United (for example) pay for a vaccine to give to a man, which will primarily benefit a woman who's insured by Aetna?
See parallels in how insurance covers birth control for women, but usually not male contraceptives like condoms, spermicide, or vasectomies. Capitalism. Where one company can profit by making it the other company's problem -- at the expense of the people at large.
Yeah I requested it from my doctor even though I'm a guy because HPV can cause cancer in lots of body parts, not just cervixes specifically: I've still got a mouth, a throat, a penis, and an anus.
I got it in my 20's with extended insurance coverage because there wasn't any actual exclusionary coding on the shot itself, I just had to administer it myself. I laughed and was grateful for being trained in how to administer IM injections (stab yourself in the thigh basically) and rock and roll.
They don't "want" to give it to people who "may have been exposed to HPV" already because it was initially considered to be less effective, but the reality is that 80% of everyone will have an active case of HPV at some point in their life, regardless of sexual activity. The strains we inoculate against prevent roughly 75% of the serious cancers that can develop with no symptoms.
Yes, I stayed too old for it for several updates and almost forgot about it. Finally getting it now at my own cost because while I’m still allowed to for a few more years, I’m not subsidised here
When my son was eligible, it was still primarily for girls, so I was surprised when my pediatrician recommended it. We discussed it further, and she said that penis cancer was a significant risk that the vaccine could prevent. Naturally, my son was vaccinated. He got the first shot only a few days BEFORE our insurance started covering it for boys.
Still wish he hadn't referred to it often and loudly as his sl*t juice.
It was 3 years after medical approval in the US that they expanded recommendation for boys. 2006 was initial approval, August 2009 recommendation changed to boys and girls
the original controlled studies only looked at the risk assessement relative to women. The calculation is a bit different in you including males. With women, because cervical cancer is a real very dangerous result of HPV, even if there were some adverse effects from the vaccine, it was deemed more than worth it.
It's not unlike the risk assessment they make for birth control on men.
My man neighbor has esophageal cancer from HPV. They moved then a new neighbor moved in the same house, he was also just diagnosed with esophageal cancer from HPV.
Yep. One of the most botched vaccine campaigns ever.
Not only was half the pop not getting the shot (even though everyone can get HPV) solely suggesting it for girls turned it into some sort of taboo thing to do that some parents wouldn't even let their girls get for fear of it 'enabling promiscuity.'
It is even worse. For the longest time men where not allowed to get it there I live. They only changed that a few years ago. And this was already bloody obvious from the start yer politicians decided to not spend money on men.
We can't detect HPV in men with any (then) currently affordable testing, so we can't demonstrate to the FDA that it provides protection for men - so they won't approve an application to offer it to men.
(I'm not sure how they got around that when it was approved for men. Certainly by now, PCR testing is widespread enough that we should be able to test for anything in any population.)
So the FDA actually approved the HPV vaccine for boys very quickly after it was approved for girls (IIRC within like 12 months). In Europe, some countries literally waited a decade before they started vaccinating boys. Like Germany didn't allow boys to get vaccinated until 2019.
It's just a different philosophy when it comes to vaccines. Like in the US, the philosophy has historically been that it's better to give people potentially unnecessary vaccines than to leave them vulnerable. In Europe, they'd rather not vaccinate people than potentially give people unnecessary vaccines.
Exactly, there is nothing stopping anyone, including boys from going to a region or country that doesn’t require the vaccine and getting it to transmit around. Just have both boys and girls be vaccinated.
We've really only come to terms with the scope of the virus recently. Now that we know it is a genderless phenomenon it is recommended for both genders. Even in male-to-male only it is now implicated in throat cancer and possibly even anal cancer. None of this was certain at the time, but they made a good bet and it turned out more correct than they thought.
In Australia the kids are all vaccinated for this first year of high school. Unless parents object - you are sent a consent note to sign. My teen said in his core class no one opted out. It’s done at school.
Yeah, it was available to girls from 2006, for free from 2007. In 2013 they started giving it to all the boys too. We're now on track to completely eliminating cervical cancer in young people
mandatory in argentina for 11 year old kids, girls and boys. I dont know when it was included in the calendar, or if boys were included at the same time with girls.
Maybe now, back when when I was graduating in ‘06 only the girls got the vaccine. I got in much later. Would have been nice to have been given it in high school.
I graduated in ‘06 and was vaccinated against it, as a male. I know for a fact my mother requested it of our family doctor. My sister is a year younger than me, so I think to my mom it didn’t make sense for one to have it and the other not, especially since men can spread it easily.
Back then, during the first years it was considered a "girls's vaccine", in my country in Italy for example only girls got the vaccine at 11 yo offered by the national healthcare for free, I remember that year how all of us at turn we were arriving at school with a sore arm
My son is fully vaccinated. It prevents throat cancers also. If your son will ever perform oral sex on a woman/man it will protect them. I think he is straight but it’s too early to know.
They just never pushed it for boys. Understandably, the threat to girls was higher when the vaccine came around due to it being the 4th most common female cancer but now, it's pretty unacceptable that we have a vaccine for a cancer causing virus and aren't giving it out to both sexes.
I mean that's fair - I'm guessing the thought was to stem the tide against the group seeing the biggest threat - but yes, it's an epidemiological failure to not vaccinate boys.
If you have the HPV virus, it may then cause cancer.
For me, I had a positive pap for HPV, which meant they would test more often until I had a negative test. (I was also vaccinated). It resolved in the next year or so. So the body can fight off HPV, but it can also lead to increased risk of cancer
Essentially 90% of cervical cancers are caused by hpv, specifically high risk ones, like type 16 and 18. It's caused by the body being unable to fight off the infection for several years, although in most cases, the body fights it off after two years. Cervical cancer is the 4th most common cancer, and the 2nd most common cancer for women. We should be doing everything we can to eradicate it.
HPV is a group of over 100 viruses. Most are cleared without issue, and some can later cause genital warts or cancers. It isn’t inevitable if you have HPV, it’s actually rather rare.
Girls were prioritized because testing for cervical and other reproductive cancers usually started later in life which meant these cancers may not be detected in time. Men may be able to tell more easily because they can just look at their penis and go “there’s a huge lump oh no”, but women can’t usually do that. I think these cancers are rarer in men as well, which meant survival rates would be higher (except for prostate cancer)
Actually, penile, throat and anal cancer are mostly asymptomatic until the cancer has spread enough to be an issue. They're much less common than cervical cancer though. Women should get a pap smear at least every three years, and more often if they are found to have high or low risk lesions caused by hpv
It's a virus whose presence increases cancer risk. Several viruses have this unfortunate side effect and while most are transmitted via direct fluid transfer, scientists are seeing signs that even repeat flu infections can trigger lung cancer growth.
HPV is typically cleared or suppressed by the body, but if it sticks around it starts to disable some of the body's ability to identify and eliminate certain cell growths (your body is naturally equipped to kill cells that spin out of control/don't behave right, but when it doesn't/can't, that's when cancer can develop.) This process can take decades.
You did the right thing. A family friend passed from throat cancer caused by HPV. He left behind a wife and children and it was so devastating knowing the vaccine that could have saved him existed within his lifetime, just a few decades too late.
Dealing with a condyloma now most likely from HPV, definitely wish I had gotten vaccinated when I was younger. I think something like 80% of sexually active men will contract HPV, definitely worth vaccinating for.
I’ve linked to the open access primary source, the journal article, in the post above.
Mathematical Assessment of the Roles of Vaccination and Pap Screening on the Burden of HPV and Related Cancers in Korea
Original Article
Open access
Published: 03 December 2025
Volume 87, article number 182, (2025)
Bulletin of Mathematical Biology
Abstract
This study is based on using a novel sex-structured mathematical model to assess the effectiveness of vaccination and Pap screening against HPV and related cancers in South Korea. In addition to its disease-free equilibrium (DFE) being locally-asymptotically stable when the associated control reproduction number is less than one, the model could have one or three endemic equilibria, for a special case with negligible disease-induced mortality, if the reproduction number exceeds one. It’s shown, using a Krasnoselskii sublinearity argument, that this special case has a unique and locally-asymptotically stable endemic equilibrium, when the reproduction number is larger than one, if, additionally, the HPV vaccine is assumed to be perfect. The DFE of a simplified version of the model, which is calibrated using HPV-related cancer data in Korea, is globally-asymptotically stable when its reproduction number is less than one. Simulations of the full model showed that, although vaccine-derived herd immunity (needed for HPV elimination) cannot be achieved in Korea under the current vaccination coverage of females (of 88%), it can be achieved if, additionally, at least 65% of males are vaccinated at steady-state. While the current combined vaccination-screening strategy (termed Strategy A) will fail to eliminate HPV, extended strategies that include increased coverage of female vaccination (termed Strategy B) or additionally vaccinating boys (termed Strategy C) could lead to such elimination in Korea. The implementation of boys-only vaccination strategy induces a significant spillover benefit in reducing cervical cancer burden, which exceeds the corresponding spillover benefit achieved by implementing a girls-only vaccination strategy.
Vaccinating Boys Could Help Eliminate Cervical Cancer
New math model shows how HPV vaccination could end cervical cancer.
South Korea could eliminate HPV by expanding vaccine access, the researchers found. The authors explored two scenarios where NIP could be improved. The first involved expanding vaccine access to cover 99% of females. Additionally, because the authors found that immunizing boys has a strong spillover effect of protecting females, the second scenario involved maintaining the current 80% female vaccination coverage while vaccinating 65% of boys aged 12-17. Model simulations suggest that these efforts would eliminate HPV-related cancers in South Korea within 60 and 70 years, respectively.
Honestly? It’s not that novel. Men are the vector of transmission. The only reason it hasn’t been pushed is mainly because of puritanical reasons. This has been known for some time.
If every man gets vacccinated , the disease goes away.
As a guy in his 30s, in my country getting an HPV vaccine would not be covered by insurance (if I were younger or a woman it would be), out of pocket it would cost something like 800$ for 3 doses.
I've never understood why we're not vaccinating both genders for HPV. About 70% of throat cancers are caused by HPV, and most of those sufferers are men (like 80%). One of the very few downsides of cunnilingus.
I'm a parent to 2 boys and a girl and the doctors asked me for permission to vaccinate all of them, which I did.
This was in the last few years I don't want to give out too much personal info about their ages but they are all under 15.
I asked about needing one myself, but being over 45 they said It wasn't necessary, I cannot personally remember ever being asked if I wanted one, but I also am biologically male.
Depends where you are, but if you're in the U.S. it's been available for close to twenty years now to both genders and recommended to be part of the normal vaccine regimen for a little less than that iirc
Yeah but there was a big loop hole of men who either weren't the right gender to get it at the age when it was standard to get it, or were later aged out of it.
Plus the culture around it initially was that it was a 'girls vaccine' so many boys and men didn't get it because of that.
Its still age limited. I wanted to get it when they first started allowing it for men, but i was a few years too old, then they increased the age, still too old, then again same thing. I'm still too old to get it.
I'm like. "Sister fill me up". I love vaccines, it's like getting software update. Sometimes there is some small issues just after a big patch but it's solved with a hotfix (a day of sleep).
Worth noting that this study is based on mathematical modeling, not real world elimination data yet. The conclusion isn’t that vaccinating boys will eliminate cervical cancer, but that under their assumptions (sexual mixing patterns, vaccine efficacy, duration of immunity), elimination becomes theoretically achievable. Real world behavior, waning immunity, and uneven coverage could shift those thresholds
You dont say.... A vaccine against a disease that affects all humans being more effective when vaccinating everyone instead of only half the population....
I wanted to get the vaccine back at college when a campaign was promoting it for girls, the nurses refused to vaccinate me and a couple friends that wanted to also get it, saying it was "female-only". One of them got throat cancer now. I tried to get it a handful years later, and the insurance refused to cover it citing the same reason.
I can't even phatom how many lives could have been saved if they gave it as a universal vaccine from the get go.
Pretty sure the whole idea was to avoid getting rid of the disease in the first place and sell both the vaccine and treatment for a long long time.
Just get the 3 doses brother. 3 >= 2 >> 1, but probably 3 > 2 >> 1 if 1 and 2 are very far apart, unless you had a robust response to a single dose. But it's a safe treatment.
While living in Korea, I was an immunization nurse on base. I had more KATUSAS coming to me requesting the HPV vaccine than anyone. Prior, I was in Germany as an immunization nurse on post, the amount of parents that refused the HPV vaccine for their kids (male and female) was crazy high
Prior, I was in Germany as an immunization nurse on post, the amount of parents that refused the HPV vaccine for their kids (male and female) was crazy high
Yeah, unfortunately the anti-vax movement is very strong in the German speaking area of Europe - big overlap with the "alternative medicine" crowd here.
Never let a doctor or physician convince you if you are a guy that the HPV vaccine is not for you. It is incredibly effective at preventing a range of cancers that affect men too. It is never too late to start the vaccination either. Please push back if you ever are told otherwise.
Can you get the HPV vaccine at any age? I never understood why they actually wouldn't allow me to get it given how HPV can cause cancer in both sexes. I actually remember getting laughed at for asking about it.
My son too. But as to your second sentence... the anti-vax contingent in the US is strong. I'm sure people will do their internet research and find some negatives to the vaccine.
Boys in the UK started to be offered the HPV vaccine 6 years ago which I think was partially thanks to Michael Douglas speaking up about his throat cancer, that started the ball rolling anyway.
The refusal to vaccinate boys is the most baffling bit of misandry I've ever seen.
Even if you honestly don't care if boys get HPV or related cancers or not, You should be able to figure out where it is that girls are getting infected from.
The historical refusal to vaccinate boys harms boys AND girls
But if you are already an adult then you're out of luck. A young man I know wants to get the shot, but because he's straight he has to pay full price ($600). I keep telling him to just tell the pharmacist he's gay so he can get it for free
Not giving boys the HPV vaccine is like the perfect kaleidoscope of bad policy. It's because they don't care about men's health, or it's because they hate gays, or it's because they don't want to eradicate the virus so that people will be afraid of sex, or it's because the pharmaceutical companies were hoping they could get two patents out of the same drug by splitting up the FDA approval applications so they could rinse the taxpayers who ultimately pay for subsidized vaccines from their government-granted monopoly via patent. Truly a mystery.
It’s due to the cost effectiveness studies only being done for cervical cancer I suppose, a lot of health technologies would be useful for screening (early detection) and prevention but governments are overly careful with spending money on potentially sick citizens that then become patients in general. One of the big failings of public health programmes if you ask me.
Please vaccinate your sons. I was part of the first group of Australian girls to get vaccinated back when I was 19, I thought I was set, but vaccines are not 100% perfect. They are not infallible.
Now I'm waiting on follow up results on follow up tests and I am trying not to think about it, but I know due to my history that this would have come from my husband who was not vaccinated and has not had a history of the best behaviour.
My son was vaccinated this year in a school program which I was ecstatic for as vaccines are not just about him and keeping him safe but for protecting his future loved ones.
Which, admittedly is the greatest cause of cervical cancer. But, there's a significant number (around 11% at greatest estimate) of cases that will not be changed by this vaccine.
I know that's not exactly the point and I'm thankful the vaccine is saving lives. I am being pedantic because that's a significant number and people seem to talk about cervical cancer as if HPV is the exclusive cause.
Yeah thank you for saying this. Currently going through chemo and radiation for HPV negative cervical cancer. People just assume I didn't get vaccinated and that's why I have cancer. My type is also more aggressive and has far less research done about it.
I got myself vaccinated because HPV infection is a bad thing and the vaccine is an extremely safe, limited intervention that grants extremely high, long-term protection from bad health outcomes and infection. Basically a permanent benefit at low cost. It's a great deal even if you only consider the most self-interested perspective.
I was not allowed to get it because my doctor insisted “men don’t have to worry about cervical cancer”. She also believed that there was no point in my wife tapering off of SSRI’s, claiming cold turkey was the best way to go.
As much as we all complain about WebMD, sometimes another source of information can be helpful.
In Australia HPV immunisation is free for all boys and girls from the age of 12. It is
Government funded as part of the Australian Immunisation Schedule.
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So silly that they only pushed it for women in the first place. I remember in high school everyone thought it was a girl’s vaccine. Meanwhile it can affect both sexes.
Same thought. I asked for it when it came out, as a guy, and they told me I was too old, and probably already had it. Well thanks for overestimating my sex life, but can I still get the immunity to this widely spread cancer vector that we now have the ability to make us immune to? No, the answer was no. No checking, just no.
Same! I even offered to pay for it out of pocket if the issue was insurance not wanting to cover it for people over a certain age, and I was told that they still wouldn’t give me the vaccine. So frustrating!!!
You might be able to get it now actually. I had the same issue and they gave me the current iteration no problem
You can.
I was in high school when it came out for girls and then by the time it was available for boys, I had already had to have warts lasered out of my asshole so they told me there's no point, you already got at least one of them.
Just got my third shot last month.
Get the HPV vaccine, y'all. Believe me when I say, it is not fun to have warts burned out of your asshole with electrocautery. You spend a lot of time in deep pain, spewing blood out of your anus into the toilet.
You can get it in your throat too. And it causes throat cancer. If you have any throat issues get that checked too.
Yep. Rectal cancer, throat cancer, penile cancer.
No idea what possessed them to say "no, not boys"
Remember that they didn’t give a damn about AIDS because it supposedly only happened to gay men, addicts or “those people” usually meaning non white.
There are parents who wouldn’t get the vaccine for their daughter because the girls aren’t supposed to have sex out of wedlock. I’m pretty sure a lot of people are going to also ignore the boys especially if they might be getting it from other boys.
It’s punishment for having sex.
I’m 35 for reference and I remember a lot of parents not wanting it for their kids because it was new and nobody was aware of long term side effects
Remember that there are doctors who cut fully 40% off the nerve endings off boys’ penises the day after they’re born. They manage to do this to over half the boys born in the USA. And they KNOW that but a single baby has consented to that. And they KNOW that almost no adult men (who weren’t cut as boys) come by to get that part of their anatomy removed. So the men who are able to make an informed choice about whether or not to get circumcised 99.5% of the time make the choice to keep all their body parts. And the doctors will cuts of the babies anyway, KNOWING it’s not what the baby boy would do for himself.
My point, I guess, is that medical ethics is just not all that ethical. They want it to be, they pretend like it is. It isn’t.
Don't forget the emotional and psychological effects! Becoming aware of what was done, what was lost, was a major cause to the only time I experienced psychosis.
There's some hope in restoration. There are devices that tension the skin and over time (several years) it lengthens, leading to dekeratinization, regain of mechanical sliding action. There are muscles and nerves that will not be restored but it's an option. One that gave me something to hold onto, no pun intended.
One day, hopefully soon, the practice will be eradicated for any non-medically necessary reasons (eg. If a circumcision of necrotic tissue could save the penis). Additionally, medical science is getting closer to growing bespoke organs and I understand there has been much relatively recent advancement in microsurgery and revascularization.
It still,for lack of a better term, triggers me when I see or hear the word or discussion of the action, and even somewhat when I hear or see words that even begin with circum-.
I'm in therapy but if anyone has any other resources, care to share with the class?
I had HPV throat cancer. It's a particular horrible treatment cycle. Thankfully, I did beat it. I was always too old to get the vaccination. If you're young enough, get the vaccination. 75% of all head and neck cancers are HPV related. A slight majority of those are men, like me.
I wonder if women even know about it. A friend of my family went through some very nasty “they burn out the inside of your throat” treatments to remove cancerous cells. Multiple treatments.
She was one of those cool, 1960s English party girls. For all I know she got it from Rod Stewart (didn’t ask of course).
But it’s not really discussed enough and I think many people who insist on condoms for vaginal or anal still won’t always do it for oral. It’s not as much fun :(
Sorry that happened to you! A (male) friend of mine literally DIED from throat cancer caused by HPV.
I came down with it last year, it's taken me a year to get healthy enough that I can work again, and even then it's with severe limitations. I'm guessing I'll need another 6-12 months before I feel mostly normal again, assuming it all heals properly. But am happy I beat it so far. fingers crossed
I'm 4 years passed treatment. It took me about 2 years for everything to get back to 'normal'. My salvia glands didn't reset to 100%. More like 80%, which I'm pleased with. I choke on some food easily now. Juicy grapes, fruits or so. My tastes buds changed a little bit, but overall, I'm happy with how I healed. All you can do is give it time. Glad you're on the other side.
A guy I knew just passed away a few months ago from cancer that started in his mouth & throat from HPV. He was old enough that he probably got it way before the vaccine was developed, but trust me when I say that you would not want to go through what he did on his way off this mortal coil.
Jfc. My 12 year old son is due for his next year at school and there's a whole heap of parents saying no. They should all have to sit down and watch your ted talk first. He's the only kid in his class that gets a flu shot every year and guess which kid was the only one not taken out with that this year?
Too many parents believe that it's the "sex vaccine" still
It wouldn't matter to me if it was. At some point in a few years, I expect him to be having sex, and if there's one less STI for him to be able to catch and pass on, its absolutely worth it.
He's almost a teenager so its only a matter of time before he turns into a horny little toad, my only job is to teach consent and safe sex. I'll leave science to the scientists and trust their judgement.
Yep. But some people cannot handle that thought that you are responsibly expecting, and it's also been used as an angle by churches to get people to be against getting it.. even though marriage doesn't act to save you from HPV either, since it's so latent.
Worst part of it was, I had to have the electrocautery procedure not once, not twice, but three times - with several smaller acid burns as well.
They're not even doing the flu shot?? I knew antivax were stupid, but come on..
That’s the one they’re least likely to get. Tetanus and rabies are vaccines you can usually get the most rabid (heh) anti-vaxxers to take after exposure. But flu? Something that’s “just a bad cold?!” Yeah, people who are even slightly vaccine hesitant skip their flu shot. :/
I got it right after it was allowed for men. Cost like 800 bucks but I felt it was worth it.
I've been considering it as well in Canada. I think the cost is like $550, which is pretty damn steep. I've been single for a while, but if I start dating again I'll likely shell out the money for it.
I didn't get it when it was first available because religious nut parents.
Got it in 2023.2024 at 40/41 years of age. This was after trying to get my health insurance to cover if for several years, and them refusing to do so. In the US it worked out to be $990 for all three doses. Well worth it, but it would have been nice if the insurance I pay $500 a month for to have covered something.
Especially with cervical cancer rates on the rise and survivability dropping over the past 20 years.
I am getting it now, it takes a full 6 months to finish the shots. I'm in ontario and it costs 200 per dose.
What? There might be options to get it for free, but I'm sure that would depend on your province. I'm in BC and they just gave it to me for free. It'd be worth looking into.
It is a several month vaccine regimen (3 over like 6 months), so plan ahead
There's some evidence (from the FDA iirc) that 2 doses is sufficient for older people, but obviously talk to a doctor or pharmacist.
If you have health insurance, it is covered with a dr's prescription
That's not what my GP told me. I am a 35yo man, I have to pay for it.
I looked into it years ago. It looked like you had to pay for it out of pocket because it wasn't deemed necessary for men to vaccinate.
The fact that you were willing to drop almost a G to protect the health of your partners truly warms my heart. Not enough people out there like you.
People should know that it doesn't just protect your partner, it protects you as well, even if you don't have a cervix or no one in your relationship has a cervix.
In addition to cervical cancer, HPV is linked to cancers of the penis, anus, vulva, vagina, and mouth and throat. Source
So a plumbing virus? Basically the equivalent to corrosion on your pipes going unnoticed until you have a huge flood in your home from a sudden gaping leak. but instead of copper or lead pipes, the gaping leak is in your anus or throat. Yay!
This is how I talked my son into getting the vaccine. I said he could get penis cancer if he didn’t.
What? I Went to Walgreens and got it.
You can get it in the UK if you have sex with other men. Guess whose sexuality suddenly became just a bit more fluid when I approached the sexual health clinic?
For the greater good...
That's awesome though. Another user from Canada said it would have cost him hundreds. I assume that's his province in particular but now I'm questioning if it's cause I was at a gay health clinic haha
As a guy, I was just planning on getting it. I have to pay out of pocket and it's like $250-350 but they will give it to me. I read that it reduces my risk of oral cancers by like 40-50% so it still seems like good insurance to get.
Got it while 33 in a monogamous relationship for the past 9 years. Still consider it worth it
Yeah, I was told that men weren't able to get it when I asked. I don't have access to healthcare right now but I'd get it if they'd let me.
Yeah I was 3 months too old for it when it came out. Same story, just no.
Then they kept upping the age limit but it scaled, I was always too old for it. Finality they upped it to 45 and now I'm getting the series done. I've already dealt with HPV16 and persistent CIN3. My doctor told me there's new data out that says getting the HPV vaccine after having CIN3 can help protect against a recurrence. Plus there's 8 more strains I'm now protected from.
Well shoot, knowing you can go to 45 now I may need it, I’m 30s and was told I was too old when it came out
And I cleared 45 just when the limit got raised to that!
Genuine question as a male also in their 30s, what are the benefits for people like us to get it? I, too, was under the impression that 1. I was too old, and 2. I've probably had HPV already. I've always considered it but didn't know if it was worth it.
Edit: thank you for the replies.
There are a lot of different strains. You might have had one or more (and hopefully cleared it), but you can still protect yourself and future partners against other strains.
For me it's a "why not" situation. It can't hurt and it could help.
Oh also awhile ago (I can't remember how many years) they finally started admitting it might protect boys against certain cancers too. (I don't recall offhand which, because I intended to get the vaccine either way.)
There are 200 different types of HPV viruses that can cause cancer (anal, cervical, throat, penile, etc) and genital warts. The vaccine protects against a few (not all). You’d be protecting yourself and partners.
This is not quite correct.
There are over 200 strains of HPV, yes, but not all cause cancer. The ones that do are 16 and 18, which are responsible for the majority of the cancers, followed by 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 66 and 68. There are some questions about whether 66 actually causes cancer or not. The remaining strains can cause warts, or have no symptoms at all.
I was told the same thing! There should be a grace period off the record, cause it was just a year. That said I just recently got mine, I think the current shot doesn't have those same restrictions!
Tell everyone!
If you tell them you're gay, the answer may be different.
The HPV vaccine scheduling - and whether insurance will cover it - is based on perceived risk to populations.
I'm an older dude and currently getting the HPV vaccines from CVS, they didn't make a fuss about it. I just need the last shot in a few months.
I'm 42. Last year I decided to get it due to some life changes. Took a few calls, but in the end, cvs minute clinic gave them to me.
A few years ago they expanded the age range so now 9-45 yrs is approved. If you are older you can get your doctor to write you a prescription (you could say you are considering a new partner, or divorce, or getting into a poly relationship and want coverage), or you can pay the cash price (Costco member cash price says $285)
Actually in the US the answer is yes now. I'm over the age range but I just went online and scheduled an appointment at CVS to get it. No barriers. My insurance covered it
I went in to the doctor a few years ago and after checking my vaccine record he asked if I wanted the HPV one. I was almost 40 and already had plenty of sexual encounters, but he said it wouldn't hurt just to take it anyway.
So maybe the opinions are changing in America.
I had the same response from my doctors back when the vaccine came out.
These days? I started my HPV vaccine series by simply asking at the pharmacy, no doctor's input even needed. Insurance covered it.
Fastest growing cancer in the US for under 40 or 50 is throat cancer due to hpv
A guy I went to high school with (now in his 50's) is currently in the end stages of HPV-related throat cancer. Ugly stuff.
Get your boys vaccinated.
I know two guys who had to get chemo for throat cancer from HPV (both in very long marriages). One in 50s and one in 30s. I (male) just got the vax in mid 40s. It's not as effective at this age, but any protection is better than none.
This is true for all the HPV-related cancers, including cervical cancer. I believe they are the only cancers not in decline over the past 20 years, despite being some of the fastest declining cancers prior to that.
Cancer rates in women under 50 have surpassed men for the first time. No idea why young women have seen worsening rates of cancer and lower survivability over the past 20 years.
It's voluntary for males in the military even though they're giving you a million other vaccines. When I asked about it they told me that it prevented like 90% of genital warts in males and I was sold
This is definitely a good selling point.
A doctor literally laughed at me for requesting the original vax because it was “for girls.” I was in my 20s and going out a lot so I got it anyways. I don’t begrudge him for it but I do remember thinking, “why the hell wouldn’t I get this?”
"But doctor, I also don't want genital warts. Should I want genital warts? Are they good for my health??"
Also what gender is giving women HPV in the first place?? Should we plug off that vector or nah??
Trying to get a primary care physician to do any actual work besides treat you like an inconvenient assembly line is so difficult. We need continuous public health education or we're doomed to be as unremarkable as the fools playing doctor
Unfortunately the logic behind this is still very common.
Why should United (for example) pay for a vaccine to give to a man, which will primarily benefit a woman who's insured by Aetna?
See parallels in how insurance covers birth control for women, but usually not male contraceptives like condoms, spermicide, or vasectomies. Capitalism. Where one company can profit by making it the other company's problem -- at the expense of the people at large.
At a dinner party the other night, one of our friends is an ER doc (female). She got all 3 of her sons this vax when they were 8 or 9.
I tried scheduling it for my then 15 year old son during a covid vaccine appointment and the pharmacist refused to give it.
I know two men with cancer from HPV. You did the right thing. I had my son and daughter vaccinated against HPV as soon as they were eligible.
Bless you for having a forgiving heart but if it were me, I'd begrudge him. What he said was not only unprofessional but also incorrect.
Yeah I requested it from my doctor even though I'm a guy because HPV can cause cancer in lots of body parts, not just cervixes specifically: I've still got a mouth, a throat, a penis, and an anus.
Look at Mr. Fancy pants, with all of his anatomical parts! Showoff!
When I was in my 20s I was told I could not get it, because it wasn’t for men. Very frustrating.
My son got the vaccine as a kid. You might want to check again. They are available at CVS pharmacy and other pharmacies up to the age of 45.
I have since done the 3 shot series. It’s definitely treated differently these days.
I got it in my 20's with extended insurance coverage because there wasn't any actual exclusionary coding on the shot itself, I just had to administer it myself. I laughed and was grateful for being trained in how to administer IM injections (stab yourself in the thigh basically) and rock and roll.
They don't "want" to give it to people who "may have been exposed to HPV" already because it was initially considered to be less effective, but the reality is that 80% of everyone will have an active case of HPV at some point in their life, regardless of sexual activity. The strains we inoculate against prevent roughly 75% of the serious cancers that can develop with no symptoms.
Even if it couldn't, males could spread it. Not vaccinating everyone is just dumb.
I legitimately thought it was ONLY for women.
Originally it was. Took them ages to let boys get it and even longer to open it up for men
Originally there was an age limit, too. I was told I was too old when the vaccine first came out. I was in my 20s.
Yes, I stayed too old for it for several updates and almost forgot about it. Finally getting it now at my own cost because while I’m still allowed to for a few more years, I’m not subsidised here
I never ended up getting it and did end up getting HPV that required surgery to eliminate so definitely get it if you can!
When my son was eligible, it was still primarily for girls, so I was surprised when my pediatrician recommended it. We discussed it further, and she said that penis cancer was a significant risk that the vaccine could prevent. Naturally, my son was vaccinated. He got the first shot only a few days BEFORE our insurance started covering it for boys.
Still wish he hadn't referred to it often and loudly as his sl*t juice.
I was about to type how I love that your doctor was informed, that you were an engaged, rational parent
This is hilarious. I hope you have many happy experience together with your grown son.
It was 3 years after medical approval in the US that they expanded recommendation for boys. 2006 was initial approval, August 2009 recommendation changed to boys and girls
the original controlled studies only looked at the risk assessement relative to women. The calculation is a bit different in you including males. With women, because cervical cancer is a real very dangerous result of HPV, even if there were some adverse effects from the vaccine, it was deemed more than worth it.
It's not unlike the risk assessment they make for birth control on men.
Here in Canada, my 12 year old son just got vaccinated for it as part of our vaccine schedule. It's optional, but we obviously opted for it.
My man neighbor has esophageal cancer from HPV. They moved then a new neighbor moved in the same house, he was also just diagnosed with esophageal cancer from HPV.
Dude that sounds like the house is the thing causing cancer
Yep. One of the most botched vaccine campaigns ever.
Not only was half the pop not getting the shot (even though everyone can get HPV) solely suggesting it for girls turned it into some sort of taboo thing to do that some parents wouldn't even let their girls get for fear of it 'enabling promiscuity.'
It is even worse. For the longest time men where not allowed to get it there I live. They only changed that a few years ago. And this was already bloody obvious from the start yer politicians decided to not spend money on men.
I think the logic behind that was:
We can't detect HPV in men with any (then) currently affordable testing, so we can't demonstrate to the FDA that it provides protection for men - so they won't approve an application to offer it to men.
(I'm not sure how they got around that when it was approved for men. Certainly by now, PCR testing is widespread enough that we should be able to test for anything in any population.)
So the FDA actually approved the HPV vaccine for boys very quickly after it was approved for girls (IIRC within like 12 months). In Europe, some countries literally waited a decade before they started vaccinating boys. Like Germany didn't allow boys to get vaccinated until 2019.
It's just a different philosophy when it comes to vaccines. Like in the US, the philosophy has historically been that it's better to give people potentially unnecessary vaccines than to leave them vulnerable. In Europe, they'd rather not vaccinate people than potentially give people unnecessary vaccines.
Yessir. Logic is pretty neat sometimes.
100% everyone thought it was, myself included. 19 years later and I just had my 2nd dose of 3 a week ago as a 40 year old.
I had to demand that my son be vaccinated. It was wild, the pediatrician was just looking at me like I grew another head.
Exactly, there is nothing stopping anyone, including boys from going to a region or country that doesn’t require the vaccine and getting it to transmit around. Just have both boys and girls be vaccinated.
And there's NO TEST for HPV in men. They literally cannot know if they're infected unless they have symptoms, which are uncommon in men.
They should absolutely be vaccinated.
It’s because of purity culture. That’s… about it.
It's because they studied it for cervical cancer first, and very few males have a cervix.
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I have a male friend who got cancer on his penis from HPV. Painful biopsies. He got the vaccine afterwards. This can impact men too.
We've really only come to terms with the scope of the virus recently. Now that we know it is a genderless phenomenon it is recommended for both genders. Even in male-to-male only it is now implicated in throat cancer and possibly even anal cancer. None of this was certain at the time, but they made a good bet and it turned out more correct than they thought.
In Australia the kids are all vaccinated for this first year of high school. Unless parents object - you are sent a consent note to sign. My teen said in his core class no one opted out. It’s done at school.
There was definitely a time where only girls got it, around the early 2000s.
Yeah, it was available to girls from 2006, for free from 2007. In 2013 they started giving it to all the boys too. We're now on track to completely eliminating cervical cancer in young people
I was pretty mad as hell about that. Apparently I knew something they didnt.
mandatory in argentina for 11 year old kids, girls and boys. I dont know when it was included in the calendar, or if boys were included at the same time with girls.
My parents opted out for me when I was a kid and it was free :(
Now I have to pay $200
Free to 9-26 year olds, FWIW. May not help you, but any other Aussies out there, get it done boys!
Meanwhile….in the US measles is making a come back.
Don't you worry the antivaxx brainrot spread far and wide, we've got our own dipshits in Australia
Don’t forget about Canada! Plenty of stupids on both sides of the border.
i thought both groups were supposed to be vaccinated for HPV???
Maybe now, back when when I was graduating in ‘06 only the girls got the vaccine. I got in much later. Would have been nice to have been given it in high school.
Well, 2006 was the first year that it was available in the USA and only approved for boys in 2009 in the USA.
In 2007, Australia was the first country to roll out a national HPV vaccine program. In 2013 it was expanded to include boys as well.
I asked my pcp for it at the age of 37 and got it
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Yeah not much downside to it
I graduated in ‘06 and was vaccinated against it, as a male. I know for a fact my mother requested it of our family doctor. My sister is a year younger than me, so I think to my mom it didn’t make sense for one to have it and the other not, especially since men can spread it easily.
Back then, during the first years it was considered a "girls's vaccine", in my country in Italy for example only girls got the vaccine at 11 yo offered by the national healthcare for free, I remember that year how all of us at turn we were arriving at school with a sore arm
My son is fully vaccinated. It prevents throat cancers also. If your son will ever perform oral sex on a woman/man it will protect them. I think he is straight but it’s too early to know.
Also anal cancer, penile cancer, and prostate cancer can be caused by HPV
Wow, I didn’t know this! It’s absurd that men haven’t been given this vaccine all along if HPV causes male and female cancers.
They just never pushed it for boys. Understandably, the threat to girls was higher when the vaccine came around due to it being the 4th most common female cancer but now, it's pretty unacceptable that we have a vaccine for a cancer causing virus and aren't giving it out to both sexes.
It's kinda insane not to push it for men as well, since men are much more likely to spread it than women because they're asymptomatic.
I mean that's fair - I'm guessing the thought was to stem the tide against the group seeing the biggest threat - but yes, it's an epidemiological failure to not vaccinate boys.
Gay boys and men were facing the same threat as women back then but society didn't really care.
Maybe i dont understand but is this essentially sexually transmitted cancer? And we arent doing enough to eradicate it?
Like its transmitted thru the virus that then causes the cancer but it seems to be essentially that.
Correct me if im wrong please.
If you have the HPV virus, it may then cause cancer.
For me, I had a positive pap for HPV, which meant they would test more often until I had a negative test. (I was also vaccinated). It resolved in the next year or so. So the body can fight off HPV, but it can also lead to increased risk of cancer
Ok ok that makes more sense. It comes with increased risks of cancer.
Is that type of cancer only from hpv?
Im just trying to understand why we arent doing more to eradicate so much suffering if it all comes down to vaccination.
Essentially 90% of cervical cancers are caused by hpv, specifically high risk ones, like type 16 and 18. It's caused by the body being unable to fight off the infection for several years, although in most cases, the body fights it off after two years. Cervical cancer is the 4th most common cancer, and the 2nd most common cancer for women. We should be doing everything we can to eradicate it.
HPV is a group of over 100 viruses. Most are cleared without issue, and some can later cause genital warts or cancers. It isn’t inevitable if you have HPV, it’s actually rather rare.
Girls were prioritized because testing for cervical and other reproductive cancers usually started later in life which meant these cancers may not be detected in time. Men may be able to tell more easily because they can just look at their penis and go “there’s a huge lump oh no”, but women can’t usually do that. I think these cancers are rarer in men as well, which meant survival rates would be higher (except for prostate cancer)
Actually, penile, throat and anal cancer are mostly asymptomatic until the cancer has spread enough to be an issue. They're much less common than cervical cancer though. Women should get a pap smear at least every three years, and more often if they are found to have high or low risk lesions caused by hpv
It's a virus whose presence increases cancer risk. Several viruses have this unfortunate side effect and while most are transmitted via direct fluid transfer, scientists are seeing signs that even repeat flu infections can trigger lung cancer growth.
HPV is typically cleared or suppressed by the body, but if it sticks around it starts to disable some of the body's ability to identify and eliminate certain cell growths (your body is naturally equipped to kill cells that spin out of control/don't behave right, but when it doesn't/can't, that's when cancer can develop.) This process can take decades.
You did the right thing. A family friend passed from throat cancer caused by HPV. He left behind a wife and children and it was so devastating knowing the vaccine that could have saved him existed within his lifetime, just a few decades too late.
Also prevents rectal cancer, which obviously has value for queer boys.
Dealing with a condyloma now most likely from HPV, definitely wish I had gotten vaccinated when I was younger. I think something like 80% of sexually active men will contract HPV, definitely worth vaccinating for.
I mean Michael Douglas fucked a LOT of women and got throat cancer from HPV.
What does his sexuality have to do with it when you said oral sex with a man OR woman can cause throat cancer??
Yep I got my son vaccinated, too. His dad was vehemently against it but he's a moron and we're divorced, so.
I’ve linked to the open access primary source, the journal article, in the post above.
Mathematical Assessment of the Roles of Vaccination and Pap Screening on the Burden of HPV and Related Cancers in Korea
Original Article Open access Published: 03 December 2025 Volume 87, article number 182, (2025) Bulletin of Mathematical Biology
Abstract
This study is based on using a novel sex-structured mathematical model to assess the effectiveness of vaccination and Pap screening against HPV and related cancers in South Korea. In addition to its disease-free equilibrium (DFE) being locally-asymptotically stable when the associated control reproduction number is less than one, the model could have one or three endemic equilibria, for a special case with negligible disease-induced mortality, if the reproduction number exceeds one. It’s shown, using a Krasnoselskii sublinearity argument, that this special case has a unique and locally-asymptotically stable endemic equilibrium, when the reproduction number is larger than one, if, additionally, the HPV vaccine is assumed to be perfect. The DFE of a simplified version of the model, which is calibrated using HPV-related cancer data in Korea, is globally-asymptotically stable when its reproduction number is less than one. Simulations of the full model showed that, although vaccine-derived herd immunity (needed for HPV elimination) cannot be achieved in Korea under the current vaccination coverage of females (of 88%), it can be achieved if, additionally, at least 65% of males are vaccinated at steady-state. While the current combined vaccination-screening strategy (termed Strategy A) will fail to eliminate HPV, extended strategies that include increased coverage of female vaccination (termed Strategy B) or additionally vaccinating boys (termed Strategy C) could lead to such elimination in Korea. The implementation of boys-only vaccination strategy induces a significant spillover benefit in reducing cervical cancer burden, which exceeds the corresponding spillover benefit achieved by implementing a girls-only vaccination strategy.
Here’s a news article on this:
https://www.technologynetworks.com/tn/news/vaccinating-boys-could-help-eliminate-cervical-cancer-407889
Vaccinating Boys Could Help Eliminate Cervical Cancer
New math model shows how HPV vaccination could end cervical cancer.
South Korea could eliminate HPV by expanding vaccine access, the researchers found. The authors explored two scenarios where NIP could be improved. The first involved expanding vaccine access to cover 99% of females. Additionally, because the authors found that immunizing boys has a strong spillover effect of protecting females, the second scenario involved maintaining the current 80% female vaccination coverage while vaccinating 65% of boys aged 12-17. Model simulations suggest that these efforts would eliminate HPV-related cancers in South Korea within 60 and 70 years, respectively.
Honestly? It’s not that novel. Men are the vector of transmission. The only reason it hasn’t been pushed is mainly because of puritanical reasons. This has been known for some time.
If every man gets vacccinated , the disease goes away.
Every female? Not the case.
Men, get vaccinated too.
Men should get vaccinated against HPV, but men are not “the vector”. Intimate contact is, be it with a man or woman.
It's a sexually transmitted disease, both genders transmit it.
It doesn't magically go away if boys are vaccinated and girls aren't.
Do you think boys spontaneously generate HPV or something?
As a guy in his 30s, in my country getting an HPV vaccine would not be covered by insurance (if I were younger or a woman it would be), out of pocket it would cost something like 800$ for 3 doses.
I've never understood why we're not vaccinating both genders for HPV. About 70% of throat cancers are caused by HPV, and most of those sufferers are men (like 80%). One of the very few downsides of cunnilingus.
They are now. My school's vaccination program does both sexes and I assume this is country-wide as it's funded by the government.
I'm a parent to 2 boys and a girl and the doctors asked me for permission to vaccinate all of them, which I did.
This was in the last few years I don't want to give out too much personal info about their ages but they are all under 15.
I asked about needing one myself, but being over 45 they said It wasn't necessary, I cannot personally remember ever being asked if I wanted one, but I also am biologically male.
Depends where you are, but if you're in the U.S. it's been available for close to twenty years now to both genders and recommended to be part of the normal vaccine regimen for a little less than that iirc
Yeah but there was a big loop hole of men who either weren't the right gender to get it at the age when it was standard to get it, or were later aged out of it.
Plus the culture around it initially was that it was a 'girls vaccine' so many boys and men didn't get it because of that.
Its still age limited. I wanted to get it when they first started allowing it for men, but i was a few years too old, then they increased the age, still too old, then again same thing. I'm still too old to get it.
You can get it, think you just have to pay out of pocket for it
I'm like. "Sister fill me up". I love vaccines, it's like getting software update. Sometimes there is some small issues just after a big patch but it's solved with a hotfix (a day of sleep).
I'm surprised HPV has not been implicated in prostate cancer...
Unrelated type of cancer. HPV has no association.
Anyone know what the age cutoff is for the vaccination? I thought it was only being administered to teens.
It’s up to 45 years old in the US!
45 years old
Prostate cancer is adenocarcinoma not squamous
Worth noting that this study is based on mathematical modeling, not real world elimination data yet. The conclusion isn’t that vaccinating boys will eliminate cervical cancer, but that under their assumptions (sexual mixing patterns, vaccine efficacy, duration of immunity), elimination becomes theoretically achievable. Real world behavior, waning immunity, and uneven coverage could shift those thresholds
Also good for preventing male hpv driven cancers
You dont say.... A vaccine against a disease that affects all humans being more effective when vaccinating everyone instead of only half the population....
I wanted to get the vaccine back at college when a campaign was promoting it for girls, the nurses refused to vaccinate me and a couple friends that wanted to also get it, saying it was "female-only". One of them got throat cancer now. I tried to get it a handful years later, and the insurance refused to cover it citing the same reason.
I can't even phatom how many lives could have been saved if they gave it as a universal vaccine from the get go.
Pretty sure the whole idea was to avoid getting rid of the disease in the first place and sell both the vaccine and treatment for a long long time.
Serious question I took one HPV vaccine a few years back I'm a man but forgot to take the other one. Is my first vaccine invalid then?
Shall I take one more now? Or do I need to take 2 more if want to complete the course?
Talk to your doctor
Just get the 3 doses brother. 3 >= 2 >> 1, but probably 3 > 2 >> 1 if 1 and 2 are very far apart, unless you had a robust response to a single dose. But it's a safe treatment.
While living in Korea, I was an immunization nurse on base. I had more KATUSAS coming to me requesting the HPV vaccine than anyone. Prior, I was in Germany as an immunization nurse on post, the amount of parents that refused the HPV vaccine for their kids (male and female) was crazy high
Yeah, unfortunately the anti-vax movement is very strong in the German speaking area of Europe - big overlap with the "alternative medicine" crowd here.
Never let a doctor or physician convince you if you are a guy that the HPV vaccine is not for you. It is incredibly effective at preventing a range of cancers that affect men too. It is never too late to start the vaccination either. Please push back if you ever are told otherwise.
I saw an article somewhere that claims that the HPV vaccine also increases life expectancy by reducing the viral load on the immune system.
Can you get the HPV vaccine at any age? I never understood why they actually wouldn't allow me to get it given how HPV can cause cancer in both sexes. I actually remember getting laughed at for asking about it.
You can get it as adult.
Both my sons have had the vaccine. There is no negative to giving them the vaccine.
My son too. But as to your second sentence... the anti-vax contingent in the US is strong. I'm sure people will do their internet research and find some negatives to the vaccine.
Boys in the UK started to be offered the HPV vaccine 6 years ago which I think was partially thanks to Michael Douglas speaking up about his throat cancer, that started the ball rolling anyway.
The refusal to vaccinate boys is the most baffling bit of misandry I've ever seen.
Even if you honestly don't care if boys get HPV or related cancers or not, You should be able to figure out where it is that girls are getting infected from.
The historical refusal to vaccinate boys harms boys AND girls
I remember when I was younger, reading an opinion from Harvard trained doctors, that vaccinating men/boys was unnecessary.
They never justified the risk outweighing benefit so I asked my PCP for it and even had to fight them to get it.
Glad to see medical opinion changing for the better!
I mean even now, per the title, it is mostly gaining acceptance in context of helping women.
Women cite discrimination by healthcare professionals but I am not aware of anything current that is worse than this.
Canada immunizes both genders for HPV at age 9.
But if you are already an adult then you're out of luck. A young man I know wants to get the shot, but because he's straight he has to pay full price ($600). I keep telling him to just tell the pharmacist he's gay so he can get it for free
Not giving boys the HPV vaccine is like the perfect kaleidoscope of bad policy. It's because they don't care about men's health, or it's because they hate gays, or it's because they don't want to eradicate the virus so that people will be afraid of sex, or it's because the pharmaceutical companies were hoping they could get two patents out of the same drug by splitting up the FDA approval applications so they could rinse the taxpayers who ultimately pay for subsidized vaccines from their government-granted monopoly via patent. Truly a mystery.
It’s due to the cost effectiveness studies only being done for cervical cancer I suppose, a lot of health technologies would be useful for screening (early detection) and prevention but governments are overly careful with spending money on potentially sick citizens that then become patients in general. One of the big failings of public health programmes if you ask me.
Never understood the current vaccination scheme. In Canada, I believe they changed it to all now but I went back to doctor to get it anyway.
It would probably eradicate anal, penile and vaginal cancers too. Everyone wins regardless of bits.
Please vaccinate your sons. I was part of the first group of Australian girls to get vaccinated back when I was 19, I thought I was set, but vaccines are not 100% perfect. They are not infallible.
Now I'm waiting on follow up results on follow up tests and I am trying not to think about it, but I know due to my history that this would have come from my husband who was not vaccinated and has not had a history of the best behaviour.
My son was vaccinated this year in a school program which I was ecstatic for as vaccines are not just about him and keeping him safe but for protecting his future loved ones.
Vaccinate your kids.
*Elimination of HPV caused cervical cancer.
Which, admittedly is the greatest cause of cervical cancer. But, there's a significant number (around 11% at greatest estimate) of cases that will not be changed by this vaccine.
I know that's not exactly the point and I'm thankful the vaccine is saving lives. I am being pedantic because that's a significant number and people seem to talk about cervical cancer as if HPV is the exclusive cause.
Yeah thank you for saying this. Currently going through chemo and radiation for HPV negative cervical cancer. People just assume I didn't get vaccinated and that's why I have cancer. My type is also more aggressive and has far less research done about it.
I am so sorry you are facing this. Wishing you the best. Be well.
I got myself vaccinated because HPV infection is a bad thing and the vaccine is an extremely safe, limited intervention that grants extremely high, long-term protection from bad health outcomes and infection. Basically a permanent benefit at low cost. It's a great deal even if you only consider the most self-interested perspective.
My boys both got it, but it took switching to a different pediatrician. Worth it.
I was not allowed to get it because my doctor insisted “men don’t have to worry about cervical cancer”. She also believed that there was no point in my wife tapering off of SSRI’s, claiming cold turkey was the best way to go.
As much as we all complain about WebMD, sometimes another source of information can be helpful.
Absolutely just do it. I believe I read it'll also decrease the number of throat cancers from men as well (also HPV caused).
In Australia HPV immunisation is free for all boys and girls from the age of 12. It is Government funded as part of the Australian Immunisation Schedule.
So in other words, we're never going to eliminate cervical cancer...