Men definitely need to be concerned about human papillomavirus (HPV). More than 40 types of HPV can be passed on through genital or oral sexual contact, and HPV can infect men's genital areas, including the skin on and around the penis or anus, as well as the mouth and throat.
Most men who get HPV never have symptoms. The infection usually goes away by itself. But, if HPV does not go away, it can cause genital warts or certain kinds of cancer. Talk to your healthcare provider about anything new or unusual on your penis, scrotum, anus, mouth, or throat.
HPV can also cause genital warts in men, just as in women. More than half of men who are sexually active in the U.S. will have HPV at some time in their life. Often, men will clear the virus on their own, with no health problems.
Can HPV be cured in men? There's no cure for HPV, no matter what gender you are. However, with regular testing, your nurse or doctor can find abnormal cells in your cervix and treat them before they turn into cancer. And most HPV infections go away on their own and don't cause any serious health problems.
HPV can affect men as well. HPV can affect men as well. The virus causes 95% of anal cancer, about 64% of oropharyngeal (tonsils, throat, base of tongue) cancers, and rarer cancers, such as penile cancers. There is currently no approved screening test for HPV in men.
No your husband/partner does not need to be tested. HPV is very common, and we do not know how long you may have had it. Your partner is also likely to have had HPV, and they may still have it, or their body may have dealt with it.
HPV is very common. It is estimated that up to 80% of people in Australia have HPV at some time in their lives. Many people who have HPV have no idea that they have been exposed to the infection.
In 90 percent of cases, the body's immune system clears the infection on its own within two years. In the HIM study group, new HPV infections took an average of 7.5 months to clear (see Table 2).
HPV is the most common STI. There were about 43 million HPV infections in 2018, many among people in their late teens and early 20s. There are many different types of HPV. Some types can cause health problems, including genital warts and cancers.
HPV clearance in men
But here again, some high-risk strains took longer to clear than low-risk HPV strains. The age of a man can also influence how long the infection lasts. One study found that older men seem to clear the infection faster, which may be because older men have more antibodies against HPV (Anic, 2011).
This is because it is difficult to get a good cell sample to test from the thick skin on the penis. Most people will not have visible symptoms if they are exposed to HPV. Therefore, for most, the virus is subclinical (invisible). This is especially true for males.
Data from the HIM Study revealed that HPV infections are less prone to be persistent in men than in women: in men, the median time to clearance of any-HPV infection was 7.5 months, with 66 and 90% of infections clearing within 12 and 24 months respectively [42], and was similar between MSM and MSW [57].
More than 4 out of every 10 cases of cancer caused by HPV occur among men. Every year in the U.S., over 14,000 men get cancers caused by HPV.
Now, a new study published Thursday in the journal JAMA Oncology points to how common that common STI really is — in men. Approximately 45 percent of U.S. adult males aged 18 to 59 are carrying active genital HPV infections, the researchers found.
In countries with limited screening, mortality from cervical cancer far exceeds that of HPV-related disease in men. However, in the developed world, the number of HPV-related cancers in men, including penile, oral, and anal cancer, is similar to that of cervical cancer in women [2–5].
While HPV does cause cervical cancer, the risk of developing cervical cancer from the virus is still quite low. For 90 percent of women with HPV, the condition will clear up on its own within two years.
You're contagious for as long as you have the virus — regardless of whether or not you have symptoms. For example, even if your genital warts have disappeared, you can still spread the HPV that caused them if the virus is still in your body. Once your immune system destroys the virus, you're no longer contagious.
Is HPV Contagious Forever? Most cases of HPV clear up on their own after one to two years, and you'll no longer be contagious once it leaves your system. However, the virus can remain dormant for years, and some people experience infections that stick around for much longer.
Some HPV infections can lead to cancer
Most HPV infections (9 out of 10) go away by themselves within 2 years. But sometimes, HPV infections will last longer and can cause some cancers. HPV infections can cause cancers of the: Cervix, vagina, and vulva in women.
About 10% of women with HPV infection on their cervix will develop long-lasting HPV infections that put them at risk for cervical cancer. Similarly, when high-risk HPV lingers and infects the cells of the vulva, vagina, penis, or anus, it can cause cell changes called precancers.
HPV stands for human papillomavirus. It's the most common sexually transmitted infection. HPV is usually harmless and goes away by itself, but some types can lead to cancer or genital warts.
It's your decision whether or not to tell your partner you have HPV. If you do decide to tell your partner you have HPV, it might help to include these points: HPV is very common in women and men who have ever had sex - four out of five people will have HPV at some point in their lives, and most won't even know it.
Whilst condoms may not fully protect your partner from HPV, they do protect both of you from other sexually transmitted infections. For couples in long-term monogamous relationships, condoms are probably of little value in preventing HPV infections as partners will inevitably share HPV.