HPV or human Papillomavirus is responsible for genital warts, penile and anal cancer in men. 200 in every 100,000 men are affected by genital warts. A vaccine for HPV has recently been voted for recommendation by an FDA advisory committee.
HPV is sexually transmitted and four strains of the virus are targeted by the Gardasil vaccine. Strains 6 and 11 are responsible for 90% of genital wart infections and 16 to 18 are responsible for 70% of cervical cancer cases in female victims of HPV.
The FDA advisory committee which debated the use of the vaccine voted 7 to 0 with one abstaining vote that data from the Gardasil clinical trial supported its effectiveness in the prevention of genital warts in men aged 19 to 26, and 7 votes to 1 that the vaccine was safe for men in the same age range. 5000 men in the age category were tested in clinical trials across the world. There were three trials in total.
Three shots were given to each participant over a 6 month period, tested against a placebo group. Every participant had their health checked by an independent doctor who checked for signs of HPV. Men who had never experienced HPV saw an 89% reduced risk of getting it.
Although the FDA does not have to follow the recommendations of its advisory committees, it usually does so, and there were no serious side effects recorded in the data to go against any decision to use the vaccine in boys of the right age. Only after thorough FDA consulting will the matter be decided. Cervical cancer is prevented in females aged between 9 and 26 by using a Gardasil HPV vaccine. Some countries are also already using the Gardasil vaccine in boys and there have been no safety issues reported in any reports surrounding the vaccine.