Health News
The human papillomavirus, which is generally blamed for causing cervical cancer, is being linked to the formation of several other kinds of cancer, and Kentuckians are getting these diseases in unusually high numbers, reports Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal.
HPV is being linked to cancers of the vagina, vulva, penis, anus and lung, as well as the head and neck. "It's turning out to be a pretty bad actor ... an extensive health problem," said Dr. Daniel Metzinger, a gynecological oncologist with University of Louisville Physicians.
Kentucky's rates for HPV-related cancer are among the highest in the country. Part of the reason may be that smoking is a risk factor and Kentucky has the nation's highest smoking rate, Ungar reports. "I'm seeing more of it for sure," said Metzinger. "It used to be a disease we'd see in older people. Now, we see it in younger and younger people."
One way to protect against the virus is to be immunized with the HPV vaccine. A federal committee recommends vaccinating 11- and 12-year-old girls through to women up to age 26. Boys and men should also be immunized from age 11 to age 21. The immunization must occur before the patient is sexually active, since HPV is sexually transmitted.
In 2010, just 49 percent of adolescent girls nationwide received at least the first of the vaccine's three doses, and only a third had gotten all three, which are required for full effectiveness. In Kentucky that year, only 25 percent of adolescent females had gotten the first dose, and fewer than 11 percent have received all three doses, according to Cervical Cancer-Free Kentucky.
National Cancer Institute numbers show more than half of sexually active people are infected with HPV at some point. Usually, it goes away on its own within a few years. "But it can also set the stage for cancer," Ungar reports. "Across the nation, about 26,000 new cancers attributed to HPV occur each year, with 18,000 in women and 8,000 in men." (Read more)
- Feds Fund Ky. Campaign To Promote Shots For Human Papilloma Virus, The Most Common Sexually Transmitted Disease
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Lt. Gov. Crit Luallen joined public health officials in Frankfort July 13 to launch Kentucky's new "Stop HPV Campaign," to encourage parents to get their children vaccinated against the human papillomavirus,...
- Study Finds That One Dose Of Hpv Vaccine That Targets Only Cervical Cancer Is As Effective As Three Doses, Now Recommended
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A study has found that one dose of the human papillomavirus vaccine Cervarix appears to be as effective in preventing HPV infections that lead to cervical cancer as do three doses, the recommended course of vaccination....
- Appalachian Women Are More Likely To Get Cervical Cancer And Die From It, But Pass Up Vaccine Partly Because Of Fatalistic Beliefs
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A fatalistic belief that getting or preventing cancer is beyond a person's control is one of many reasons young women in Appalachian Kentucky are likely to not get or complete the series of HPV vaccinations...
- Rural Women Are Less Likely To Complete Vaccinations For Cervical-cancer Virus; Study Finds Vaccine Does Not Increase Sexual Activity
Women living in rural areas of the U.S. were far less likely to return for their follow-up doses after they get the initial injection of the human papillomavirus vaccine, a study in the Journal of Rural Health has found. (Photo by Pete Rodman, Bowling...
- Cervical Cancer Initiative Launched To Promote Education, Vaccination, Screening, Prevention And Treatment
The Cervical Cancer-Free America initiative launched earlier this month, bringing together six states, including Kentucky, and more than 75 organizations to help eradicate the disease. Promoting education, vaccination and effective screening are the cornerstones...
Health News
HPV-linked cancers on rise, more prevalent in Kentucky
HPV is being linked to cancers of the vagina, vulva, penis, anus and lung, as well as the head and neck. "It's turning out to be a pretty bad actor ... an extensive health problem," said Dr. Daniel Metzinger, a gynecological oncologist with University of Louisville Physicians.
Kentucky's rates for HPV-related cancer are among the highest in the country. Part of the reason may be that smoking is a risk factor and Kentucky has the nation's highest smoking rate, Ungar reports. "I'm seeing more of it for sure," said Metzinger. "It used to be a disease we'd see in older people. Now, we see it in younger and younger people."
One way to protect against the virus is to be immunized with the HPV vaccine. A federal committee recommends vaccinating 11- and 12-year-old girls through to women up to age 26. Boys and men should also be immunized from age 11 to age 21. The immunization must occur before the patient is sexually active, since HPV is sexually transmitted.
In 2010, just 49 percent of adolescent girls nationwide received at least the first of the vaccine's three doses, and only a third had gotten all three, which are required for full effectiveness. In Kentucky that year, only 25 percent of adolescent females had gotten the first dose, and fewer than 11 percent have received all three doses, according to Cervical Cancer-Free Kentucky.
National Cancer Institute numbers show more than half of sexually active people are infected with HPV at some point. Usually, it goes away on its own within a few years. "But it can also set the stage for cancer," Ungar reports. "Across the nation, about 26,000 new cancers attributed to HPV occur each year, with 18,000 in women and 8,000 in men." (Read more)
- Feds Fund Ky. Campaign To Promote Shots For Human Papilloma Virus, The Most Common Sexually Transmitted Disease
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Lt. Gov. Crit Luallen joined public health officials in Frankfort July 13 to launch Kentucky's new "Stop HPV Campaign," to encourage parents to get their children vaccinated against the human papillomavirus,...
- Study Finds That One Dose Of Hpv Vaccine That Targets Only Cervical Cancer Is As Effective As Three Doses, Now Recommended
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A study has found that one dose of the human papillomavirus vaccine Cervarix appears to be as effective in preventing HPV infections that lead to cervical cancer as do three doses, the recommended course of vaccination....
- Appalachian Women Are More Likely To Get Cervical Cancer And Die From It, But Pass Up Vaccine Partly Because Of Fatalistic Beliefs
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A fatalistic belief that getting or preventing cancer is beyond a person's control is one of many reasons young women in Appalachian Kentucky are likely to not get or complete the series of HPV vaccinations...
- Rural Women Are Less Likely To Complete Vaccinations For Cervical-cancer Virus; Study Finds Vaccine Does Not Increase Sexual Activity
Women living in rural areas of the U.S. were far less likely to return for their follow-up doses after they get the initial injection of the human papillomavirus vaccine, a study in the Journal of Rural Health has found. (Photo by Pete Rodman, Bowling...
- Cervical Cancer Initiative Launched To Promote Education, Vaccination, Screening, Prevention And Treatment
The Cervical Cancer-Free America initiative launched earlier this month, bringing together six states, including Kentucky, and more than 75 organizations to help eradicate the disease. Promoting education, vaccination and effective screening are the cornerstones...