Long reserved for girls, the vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) now also concerns boys. An extension necessary both to protect them from certain cancers and to ultimately hope to completely eliminate these diseases. In France, HPV vaccination has been recommended for girls aged 11 to 14 since 2007, and for boys of the same age since 2021. Generalized and free vaccination of 5th graders will begin from October 2 in certain regions. It will be preceded by a communication campaign on vaccination from Monday.
Each year in the country, HPV, the English abbreviation for human papillomavirus, are responsible for more than 6,000 new cases of cancer, most often of the cervix, which causes 1,100 deaths per year, of the vulva or vagina, but also the ENT sphere, the anus or the penis. A recent study published in The Lancet showed that, at any given time, 31% of men over the age of 15 are infected with an HPV-like virus. More importantly, one in five men (21%) is a carrier of oncogenic HPV, that is to say potentially the cause of cancer.
If the main affected are between 25 and 29 years old (35%), all sexually active men are “an important reservoir of genital HPV infections”, continues the study. “This meta-analysis of the Lancet confirms empirical and theoretical elements: the HPV virus is everywhere, it is extremely transmissible”, commented to Agence France-Presse Emmanuel Ricard, spokesperson for the League against cancer and doctor of public health.
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, quoted by The Lancet, approximately 69,400 cases of cancers in men caused by HPV were recorded in 2018 worldwide. Vaccinating boys therefore has a first obvious benefit: the injection protects them directly against cancers and warts of the anogenital sphere (penis and anus) for which the effectiveness of the vaccine is already established.
Another expected gain: “Probable protection against ENT cancers, more common in men, induced by HPV”, told AFP Judith Mueller, medical epidemiologist, professor at the School of Advanced Studies in Public Health (EHESP) and researcher at the Institut Pasteur.
Last January, Arthur Sadoun, boss of the French communication group Publicis, broke a taboo on this little-known link by publicly evoking his tonsil cancer, caused by HPV. He had also invited to testify the American actor Michael Douglas, also affected by ENT cancer due to the virus.
Vaccinating young boys, future sexual partners and spouses, should also reduce the risk of transmission of these viruses. “Boys infect themselves with girls, girls with boys, and there are girls who infect themselves with girls and boys with boys”, summarizes Emmanuel Ricard. “At some point, if you want to stop the circulation of the virus, you have to vaccinate everyone. »
An argument retained by Rémy Bellet, an insurance executive, who did not wait for the vaccination campaign planned for college in the 5th grade, to have his 12-year-old son Paul vaccinated: “My wife had HPV precancerous. On this occasion, we learned that the boys were also carriers of the virus and that a vaccine existed, “he says. “It seemed obvious to us that he needed to be vaccinated. »
On a practical level, “the gender-neutral vaccine recommendation will be easier to promote,” says Judith Mueller. “Communication no longer needs to be targeted only at young girls, but only at young people. »
According to the researcher, vaccinating boys is all the more important as the current coverage is today “not yet optimal”. By the end of 2022, 48% of girls and 13% of boys aged 15 had received at least one dose of the vaccine.
“Vaccinating boys will clearly have an impact on women’s health by accelerating cervical cancer risk reduction,” Mueller said. “With good family information, future middle school campaigns have the potential to raise vaccination coverage among girls and boys to a level that will provide significant protection. »
