War On Warts

Changing sexual practices have led to a dramatic rise in throat cancer in the United States over the past two decades, and experts say they fear an epidemic of the disease.

The comments were made Wednesday at a news conference held by the American Association for Cancer Research to discuss research into the role of the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus ( HPV) in head and neck cancer.

Increasing rates of HPV infection, spread through oral sex, is largely driving the rapid rise in oropharyngeal cancers, which include tumors of the throat, tonsils, and base of the tongue, said Scott Lippman, MD, who chairs the thoracic department at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Continue Reading »

Tags: hpv, oral sex, warts in mouth, warts in throat

as a urologist i see a lot of patient with growths or bumps on the penis

some patients ask do I have cancer? do I need a biopsy? 

Most patients with a classic wart or HPV do not need a biopsy, patient who are uncircumcised or recurrent growths may consider a biopsy.

Freezing a wart with liquid nitrogen, cauterization, or topical treatments like aldara (imiquimod topical cream)

if you have a wart get to a doctor and have it treated.  A biopsy is not a  bad idea but no always necessary

thanks for all of stories and questions I hope this site can help you fight your personal war on warts. 

the wow team is committed to helping you with the most sensitive topics!

click find a physician for a team member physician in your area!

Tags: aldara, Anal Warts, common wart, condyloma, fighting the war on warts, freezing warts, hpv, penile biopsy, penile pearly papules, penile wart, Penile Warts, warts, winning the war on warts

Genital infection with low-risk types of HPV is associated with genital warts in men. Infection with high-risk types of HPV is associated with a proportion of preinvasive squamous lesions of the penis (penile intraepithelial neoplasia or PIN) and with penile cancer, as well as with preinvasive squamous lesions of the anus (anal intraepithelial neoplasia or AIN) and with anal cancer.

Invasive penile cancer is quite uncommon, especially in circumcised men.

In 2002, the age-adjusted incidence rate for penile cancer in the U.S. was 0.8 per 100,000 men (985 new cases). The age-adjusted incidence rate for anal cancer was 1.2 per 100,000 men (1,453 new cases). However, the risk of anal cancer for MSM is significantly higher.

Because of the increased incidence of anal cancer in MSM, especially HIV-infected MSM, some specialists recommend screening for AIN by cytology in this population. However, there are limited data on the natural history of AIN, the reliability of screening methods, the safety and response to treatments, and the programmatic considerations that would support this screening approach.

Until more data are generated on screening for AIN, this screening approach is not recommended.

There is currently no FDA-approved HPV DNA test for males, nor is HPV testing of males recommended. There is no clinical utility in testing men for HPV; infection does not indicate increased risk of disease for the man or his partner. While HPV is common in men, HPV-associated cancers are rare.

There are no routine methods for culturing HPV. Serology tests are available for HPV, but these tests are used only in research settings. Many persons with detectable HPV DNA do not have antibodies, so these tests are not a good method to indicate infection with HPV.

While it is possible that vaccination of males with the HPV vaccine may offer direct health benefits to males and indirect health benefits to females, there are currently no efficacy data available to support use of HPV vaccine in males. Efficacy studies in males are ongoing.

Additional information is available on the CDC website at:

http://www.cdc.gov/STD/hpv/hpv-clinicians-brochure.htm

To access treatment guidelines for HPV and genital warts, please review CDC s 2006 STD Treatment Guidelines available online at:

- HPV Infection

http://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment/2006/hpv.htm

- Genital Warts

http://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment/2006/genital-warts.htm

Tags: cdc, hpv

In a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, gay and bisexual men were found to have a significantly higher risk for developing anal cancer, over thirty-five times greater than the general population. HIV-positive men were estimated to be eighty times more likely to get it. Although anal cancer accounts for less than 5 percent of all digestive and intestinal tract cancers, the rates have increased 160 percent over a thirty- year period. Gay African-American men have the sharpest increase and the lowest survival rates. Interestingly, anal cancer in gay men is as common as cervical cancer was in women before the use of the Pap smear, the test that screens for precancerous lesions on the cervix. Both types of cancer are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), which also causes anal and genital warts. HPV is one of the most common STDs in the world. Fortunately, anal cancer is highly preventable and treatable if caught in time.

There are more then one hundred different subtypes of HPV, and some are the source of common warts as seen on the hands and feet. HPV affects approximately 65 percent of HIV-negative gay men, and nearly 95 percent of HIV-positive gay men carry HPV in their anal canals. Most do not even know they have it. Subtypes 6 and 11 cause 90 percent of genital warts, while subtypes 16 and 18 are far more dangerous because of their precancerous potential.

Continue Reading »

Tags: anal cancer, Anal Warts, hiv and hpv, hiv and warts, hpv, male pap smear, men who have sex with men

by: Michelle Lipke

Liquid nitrogen is a popular destructive treatment for warts.  It is readily available in both dermatology and primary care offices.   Verucca-Freeze and many similar brands available over the counter are a liquid applied from a spray can, but only freeze to -70C.  Warts may not resolve with the over the counter freezing due to the fact that they do not freeze as fast as the liquid nitrogen available in the clinic setting; as well as the proper application technique may not always be used. The wart virus, known as human papilloma virus (HPV), is not destroyed by the freezing procedure.   Liquid nitrogen freezes at -196C and works by destroying the skin cells which in turn release the wart virus.  They body responds to this process by causing an immune response to resolve the wart.

Continue Reading »

Tags: cryo, freezing warts, hpv, liquid nitrogen, LN2, treatment option, verruca freeze

Tags: gardasil, hpv

As a parent of a school-age daughter, I haven’t decided what to think about the new cervical cancer vaccine. That’s why I was interested to learn the shot may soon be given to boys primarily to benefit girls.

Merck’s Gardasil vaccine is approved for use in girls and women, ages 9 to 26, to protect them against the human papillomavirus, or H.P.V., which causes cervical cancer. Girls can be vaccinated when they are as young as 9, although it’s recommended for 11- and 12-year-olds, before they are sexually active.

Continue Reading »

Tags: condyloma, GW, herd immunity, hpv, vaccine, warts

Tags: GW, hpv, video, warts

If you have been diagnosed with HPV of the Cervix, it is very important that your partner be examined by a health care provider who specializes in the treatment of HPV infection. Recent studies have shown that the male sexual partner of a woman with HPV or cervical dysplasia has a 60% chance of having HPV infection of the penis. This infection most frequently can only be detected with magnification as the lesions are very tiny. Male HPV infection must be treated in order to prevent re-infection of the female partner. In addition, untreated male HPV may eventually lead to cancer of the penis.

Tags: Cervix, CIN, hpv, partner, penile cancer, re-infection

Warts are tumors or growths of the skin caused by infection with Human Papillomavirus (HPV). More than 70 HPV subtypes are known.

Warts are particularly common in childhood and are spread by direct contact or autoinocculation. This means if a wart is scratched, the viral particles may be spread to another area of skin. It may take as long as twelve months for the wart to first appear.

Tags: contageous, hpv, spread, wart, warts