HPV Infection Threatens the Entire LGBT Community

A recent article by The Advocate warns that the human papillomavirus (HPV) is a hidden threat to all members of the LGBT community -- and few people even realize what it is.

In their alarming report, many LGBTs evidenced spurious knowledge about a virus that is widespread, often has few symptoms, and can be spread through vaginal, oral, or anal sex.
"Pretty much everyone is infected with HPV at some point in their life," says physician Judith Shlay, interim director of Denver Public Health and director of immunization at the health department's travel clinic. "It's been around a long, long time."

You may already have it, and never even know. Not everyone infected with HPV will exhibit genital warts, and condoms don't completely protect against it, as HPV resides on the skin on and around the carrier's head, mouth, throat, vulva, cervix, vagina, penis, and anus.
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In fact, you could have already gotten one of the more than 100 strains of HPV, and your immune system may have already eradicated it. But 40 of those strains may cause genital warts, especially strains 6 and 11.

"High-risk types of HPV can cause pre-cancerous changes not only on the cervix -- which is what's most commonly considered with HPV -- but also on the penis, in the anus, and in the throat," Shlay says.

HPV strains 16 and 18 are the particularly nasty ones most linked to cervical and anal cancer, while 31 and 33 have been associated with cancer of the throat and penis.

What's worse, if you have HPV, your bad habits could make you more susceptible to getting oral cancer. The LGBT community is about 44 percent more likely than straights to smoke cigarettes, and those infected run 2.5 times the risk of getting oral cancer as nonsmokers who are infected. Heavy drinkers with HPV are three times as likely to develop oral cancer as non-drinkers with HPV.

If you think it's not you, don't be so sure. The Cancer Network estimates that 93 percent of HIV-positive gay and bisexual men have anal HPV infections. And that weakened immune system could lead to anal or genital warts that are abnormal, frequent, and aggressive.

The cherry on the sundae? There's no cure for HPV. Regular screenings (and anal pap smears for MSM) are recommended, and doctors urge people to get vaccinated, especially young adults, both girls and boys. Those between the ages of 11 and 26 have two options for a vaccine: Gardasil (for both males and females) and Cervarix (for cisgender females and trans males).

"People in the U.S. have done well with cervical prevention because we have a pap smear test -- it picks up anything abnormal, then we address it before it progresses," said Shlay. Additionally, abnormalities of the penis are more noticeable, "but with the throat or anus, you can't always see them. We try to vaccinate younger people before they become sexually active -- only the vaccine can prevent you from getting [HPV]."