4 ms·

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/anal-cancer/causes-risks-prevention/risk-factors.html https://www.cancer.org/cancer/anal-cancer/causes-risks-preve... Infection b

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/anal-cancer/causes-risks-prevention/risk-factors.html https://www.cancer.org/cancer/anal-cancer/causes-risks-preve... Infection by the human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most important risk factor for anal cancer. Most squamous cell anal cancers are linked to infection with HPV. HPV is a group of more than 150 related viruses, the same group of viruses that causes cervical cancer, as well as other kinds of cancer. In fact, women with a history of cervical cancer (or pre-cancer) have an increased risk of anal cancer.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
elorant 4y ago
Don't we already have a vaccine for HPV?
- toomuchtodo 4y ago
  We do, but uptake is not great in the US versus other developed countries [1]. There are efforts to improve this [2]. Australia’s high uptake rate is leading to possible eradication of cervical cancer by 2035 [3]. Tangentially, there is substantial evidence viruses lead to various cancers, and with vaccines being such high leverage wrt cost:value, we should be leaning hard into prevention (although mRNA and CRISPR will still be necessary paths for cancer treatment). [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6482788/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6482788/ [2] http://hpvroundtable.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/05_School_Entry_Requirements_for_HPV_Vaccination_WEB_updated.pdf http://hpvroundtable.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/05_Schoo... [3] https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/feb/02/australia-on-track-to-eliminate-cervical-cancer-by-2035-amid-rising-hpv-vaccination-rates https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/feb/02/austr...
  - yjftsjthsd-h 4y ago
    > but uptake is not great in the US versus other developed countries It's painfully confounded with other variables, but that could provide a (noisy) quick check on how likely it is that HPV causes the cancer increase, right? If there's an effective vaccine with varied uptake, then we should be able to compare countries by rate of vaccination and cancer, and see if there's a substantial negative correlation.
- drdec 4y ago
  Yes - unfortunately uptake is limited as some people see giving your child the vaccine as a green light for sexual activity.
  - pengaru 4y ago
    Those same people don't educate their children on the existence of HPV and its role in their future diseases. The kids have already been green-lit in this department via total ignorance of the risks. Uptake is limited simply because it hasn't been required in the USA as part of school enrollment. This is the primary driver of vaccination in the country. I'm fairly certain you're conflating hormonal birth control with HPV vaccination.
    - drdec 4y ago
      > I'm fairly certain you're conflating hormonal birth control with HPV vaccination. No, I'm talking about HPV vaccination. It comes up every so often in parent forums and there are always people taking this position. Not that it doesn't happen with respect to birth control as well.
hammock 4y ago
Thank you for posting the top risk factor, interesting that it’s not diet. HPV is also the big driver of throat cancer. I’ll leave it for readers to connect the dots as to what risky behavior looks like for HPV-driven anal cancer and why it might be rising in younger adults
- colab65 4y ago
  [dead]
- Qem 4y ago
  Now there is a HPV vaccine for several years already. Shouldn't we be seeing a decrease in cases after a peak before vaccination, if the cause were this?
  - hammock 4y ago
    The HPV vaccine was either not available, or not scheduled early enough for these 30- and 40-somethings mentioned in the article. Some 80% of adults carry one strain of HPV or another, so vaccinating after you have become sexually active is mostly ineffective. For the even younger generation that is getting the vaccine early, it might have an effect
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - Qem 4y ago
      > Some 80% of adults carry one strain of HPV or another, so vaccinating after you have become sexually active is mostly ineffective. I wonder if that is a wise policy on part of health authorities. I bet is likely the vaccine would reduce the severity of infection in people that are carriers already, just like the COVID vaccine helps you avoiding a severe case when infected.
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
95gh840 4y ago
HPV vaccines have been around since 2008. According to the CDC 89% of teens have been vaccinated. So, hopefully that will help stem the tide. Source: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/imz-managers/coverage/teenvaxview/data-reports/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/imz-managers/coverage/teenvaxvi...
- beefman 4y ago
  First HPV vaccine was approved in the U.S. in 2006. Should be protecting patients younger than 30. But won't protect them from colon cancer. And here's a report that disputes HPV's causative role in rectal cancer https://doi.org/10.1186/s13027-020-00281-z https://doi.org/10.1186/s13027-020-00281-z
dehrmann 4y ago
Anal cancer isn't the same as colorectal cancer, and the risk factor to look for with anal cancer is anal sex, so it should be pretty easy to sort out.
paulgerhardt 4y ago
This study [1] makes a strong argument that the two are not correlated. Specifically, zero patients of a sample of 144 patients suffering from this strain of cancer also tested positive for HPV-16. Admittedly the cells were tested from cultures collected between 2005 and 2010 at the near start of this trend - it would be interesting to see if that holds true for more recent cultures and across more varieties of HPV strains. [1] https://infectagentscancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13027-020-00281-z https://infectagentscancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.118...

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

elorant 4y ago

Don't we already have a vaccine for HPV?

toomuchtodo 4y ago
We do, but uptake is not great in the US versus other developed countries [1]. There are efforts to improve this [2]. Australia’s high uptake rate is leading to possible eradication of cervical cancer by 2035 [3]. Tangentially, there is substantial evidence viruses lead to various cancers, and with vaccines being such high leverage wrt cost:value, we should be leaning hard into prevention (although mRNA and CRISPR will still be necessary paths for cancer treatment). [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6482788/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6482788/ [2] http://hpvroundtable.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/05_School_Entry_Requirements_for_HPV_Vaccination_WEB_updated.pdf http://hpvroundtable.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/05_Schoo... [3] https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/feb/02/australia-on-track-to-eliminate-cervical-cancer-by-2035-amid-rising-hpv-vaccination-rates https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/feb/02/austr...
- yjftsjthsd-h 4y ago
  > but uptake is not great in the US versus other developed countries It's painfully confounded with other variables, but that could provide a (noisy) quick check on how likely it is that HPV causes the cancer increase, right? If there's an effective vaccine with varied uptake, then we should be able to compare countries by rate of vaccination and cancer, and see if there's a substantial negative correlation.
drdec 4y ago
Yes - unfortunately uptake is limited as some people see giving your child the vaccine as a green light for sexual activity.
- pengaru 4y ago
  Those same people don't educate their children on the existence of HPV and its role in their future diseases. The kids have already been green-lit in this department via total ignorance of the risks. Uptake is limited simply because it hasn't been required in the USA as part of school enrollment. This is the primary driver of vaccination in the country. I'm fairly certain you're conflating hormonal birth control with HPV vaccination.
  - drdec 4y ago
    > I'm fairly certain you're conflating hormonal birth control with HPV vaccination. No, I'm talking about HPV vaccination. It comes up every so often in parent forums and there are always people taking this position. Not that it doesn't happen with respect to birth control as well.

hammock 4y ago

Thank you for posting the top risk factor, interesting that it’s not diet. HPV is also the big driver of throat cancer. I’ll leave it for readers to connect the dots as to what risky behavior looks like for HPV-driven anal cancer and why it might be rising in younger adults

colab65 4y ago
[dead]
Qem 4y ago
Now there is a HPV vaccine for several years already. Shouldn't we be seeing a decrease in cases after a peak before vaccination, if the cause were this?
- hammock 4y ago
  The HPV vaccine was either not available, or not scheduled early enough for these 30- and 40-somethings mentioned in the article. Some 80% of adults carry one strain of HPV or another, so vaccinating after you have become sexually active is mostly ineffective. For the even younger generation that is getting the vaccine early, it might have an effect
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - Qem 4y ago
    > Some 80% of adults carry one strain of HPV or another, so vaccinating after you have become sexually active is mostly ineffective. I wonder if that is a wise policy on part of health authorities. I bet is likely the vaccine would reduce the severity of infection in people that are carriers already, just like the COVID vaccine helps you avoiding a severe case when infected.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]

95gh840 4y ago

HPV vaccines have been around since 2008. According to the CDC 89% of teens have been vaccinated. So, hopefully that will help stem the tide. Source: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/imz-managers/coverage/teenvaxview/data-reports/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/imz-managers/coverage/teenvaxvi...

beefman 4y ago
First HPV vaccine was approved in the U.S. in 2006. Should be protecting patients younger than 30. But won't protect them from colon cancer. And here's a report that disputes HPV's causative role in rectal cancer https://doi.org/10.1186/s13027-020-00281-z https://doi.org/10.1186/s13027-020-00281-z

dehrmann 4y ago

Anal cancer isn't the same as colorectal cancer, and the risk factor to look for with anal cancer is anal sex, so it should be pretty easy to sort out.

paulgerhardt 4y ago

This study [1] makes a strong argument that the two are not correlated. Specifically, zero patients of a sample of 144 patients suffering from this strain of cancer also tested positive for HPV-16. Admittedly the cells were tested from cultures collected between 2005 and 2010 at the near start of this trend - it would be interesting to see if that holds true for more recent cultures and across more varieties of HPV strains. [1] https://infectagentscancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13027-020-00281-z https://infectagentscancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.118...