HPV vaccine made available for males

Shanghai and several other cities in China, including Nanjing and Suzhou in Jiangsu province, Fuzhou in Fujian province, and Chengdu in Sichuan province, started administering human papillomavirus vaccines to their male populations last week.

While HPV infection is often discussed as a concern for women, experts have emphasized that vaccinating males against HPV is crucial in preventing virus transmission and related diseases in men and protecting their partners.

The quadrivalent HPV vaccine, developed by multinational pharmaceutical company Merck, was approved on Jan 8 for males on the Chinese mainland. The vaccine targets HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18.

The vaccine is available to females age 9 to 45 and males age 9 to 26. It requires three doses, costing around 800 yuan ($109) per shot.

Experts pointed out that while persistent infection with high-risk HPV types is widely known as the primary cause of cervical cancer in women, less attention is given to the impact of HPV on men.

"HPV types 6 and 11 are responsible for nearly 90 percent of genital warts, and HPV types 16 and 18 cause nearly 90 percent of anal cancers," said Sui Long, chief physician at the cervical disease diagnosis and treatment center of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai.

Sui added that HPV-related cancers and genital warts in men are often diagnosed at advanced stages due to the lack of routine early screening. Recent data from the Chinese population indicates that the HPV infection rate in men is higher than in women.

A study cited by media outlet The-Paper.cn, based on the population of the United States, estimated that the lifetime probability of HPV infection for people with at least one heterosexual partner is 91.3 percent in men and 84.6 percent in women.

"The first peak of HPV infection in males occurs between ages 18 and 24," said Huang Zhuoying, deputy director of the Institute of Immunization at the Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention. "Vaccination should ideally be completed before this peak to achieve optimal protection."

Huang noted that HPV can infect other parts of the body such as the mouth, throat and skin, causing tumors and other diseases. Common transmission routes in men include sexual contact and direct contact with the skin or mucous membranes.

"Expanding vaccination to include both genders, rather than limiting it to women, will significantly reduce HPV infection rates, lower screening and treatment costs and accelerate the goal of eliminating cervical cancer," Huang said.

Men wishing to get vaccinated can make appointments at community health centers and participating hospitals.

In 2020, the World Health Organization unveiled a global strategy to eliminate cervical cancer, proposing that by 2030, 90 percent of girls should be vaccinated against HPV by age 15, 70 percent of women should be screened with a high-performance test by ages 35 and 45, and 90 percent of women diagnosed with cervical disease should receive treatment.

China issued its own action plan in 2023, aiming to achieve similar targets by 2030.