It’s proving to be an uphill battle for pediatricians; to get young girls to take the HPV vaccine. When it comes to boys, the challenge is even greater.
“There tend to be two distinct camps. People who are ‘ok I think this is a good idea, any shot that can protect against cancer is a good thing’ and then there are parents who still have their concerns,” says Dr. Denice Drago, who is a pediatrician with Lee Memorial Health System.
Maybe this will help change minds: currently it’s estimated that 70% of head and neck cancers are caused by HPV. And by the year 2020 oropharyngeal will top cervical cancer as the most common HPV-related cancers. It’s believed the issue may have clouded when vaccines were first aimed at girls only.
“Some parents who have heard about it in the past are more receptive but there’s still a question of if it's a cervical cancer shot why am I giving it to boys?” says Dr. Drago.
Turns out boys have a lot at stake. Males face up to a five times greater risk of getting oral HPV cancers- that includes the throat, tonsils and tongue. The message is slow to sink in: only 14% of boys completed the full 3-shot series by 2013.
“You can get tongue and neck cancer and it can protect against that if it’s from HPV. So it’s definitely something good for both sexes but it tends to be more of a push back with the boys,” says Dr. Drago.
Moving forward it may come down to making the message sexless and turning attention toward prevention.
“All of the vaccines are used to preemptively protect again something and that’s the same with the HPV,” says Dr. Drago.
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Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.
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