Call to give boys anti-cancer jab given to girls to protect them from cancers

July 11, 2016

Numbers of head and neck cancers related to HPV quadrupled since 1990s
Increase has been partly blamed on the rising prevalence of oral sex
NHS would need to spend £20 million to vaccinate all boys

Sophie Borland Health Editor For The Daily Mail

Published:
18:16 EST, 10 July 2016

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Updated:
02:30 EST, 11 July 2016

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More academics say it should be given to adolescent boys at the same time as girls to prevent cancers of the throat, head and neck (file photo)

Boys should be given the HPV jab alongside girls to prevent cancer and not doing so is ‘discriminatory’, scientists claim.

The vaccine protects against the Human Papilloma Virus, which triggers a range of cancers including cervical in women and head, throat and neck.

It is already offered to 12 and 13 year old schoolgirls and is estimated to protect against 70 per cent of cervical cancers but the Government is reluctant to roll it out to males.

The Department of Health is currently overseeing a pilot which launched last month to test the cost and effectiveness at offering the jab in some clinics.

But growing numbers of academics say it should be given to adolescent boys at the same time as girls to prevent cancers of the throat, head and neck.

Research has shown that the numbers of head and neck cancers alone related to HPV has quadrupled since the 1990s and there are now nearly 2,000 a year.

The increase in rates of HPV have been partly blamed on the rising prevalence of oral sex, which is one of the main ways it is spread.

Professor Margaret Stanley, an expert in immunology at Cambridge University, said: ‘Relying on female-only vaccine programmes to remove HPV from the population is risky.

‘We need protection for both sexes to be sure we eradicate HPV.

‘A great many health experts in this field are paying privately to have their sons vaccinated.

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‘It costs £160 for a double shot. I have had my grandson vaccinated. The nature of the problem is obvious.

‘In any case, it is simply discriminatory not to give a vaccine to men when it could save their lives.’

Professor Mark Lawler of Queen’s University Belfast said: ‘If we want to eradicate male throat cancers – which are soaring in numbers – we need to act speedily and that means giving them the HPV vaccine we now give to girls.

Peter Baker, campaign director for HPV Action said: ‘Smoking and alcohol add to risks, but the fact that couples are having more and more oral sex is the main factor.

Peter Baker, campaign director for HPV Action said: ‘Smoking and alcohol add to risks, but the fact that couples are having more and more oral sex is the main factor’ (file photo)

‘HPV is spread sexually. However, this vaccine will not work effectively if a person has already been infected by HPV.

‘That’s why it is given to girls when they are 12 or 13 – before they are sexually active.’

The vaccine costs the NHS £130 a dose and two are needed over a six month period to guarantee protection.

Experts also point out the NHS would need to spend £20 million to vaccinate all boys – but this is far less than the £30 million currently paid out treating related cancers and other illnesses caused by HPV, including genital warts.