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The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common STD in the U.S. It is known to cause genital warts, and it has been implicated as the cause of [[cervical cancer ]] in womenand [[penile cancer]] in men.
== Prevention ==
Two vaccines have recently been developed to prevent HPV acquisition. In the past, [[circumcision ]] was assumed to prevent the acquisition of HPV, thus reducing the risk of cervical cancer, but this was supported by dubious studies as outlined below.
== Circumcision and HPV ==
The association of HPV transmission with [[circumcision]] has been a heavily debated topic for many years. As more recent studies enact more rigorous controls and use larger study groups, the association between circumcision and HPV has become more clear.
A classic 1993 study on HPV came up with the following conclusions: "[[Uncircumcised ]] men had a lower prevalence of genital warts than circumcised men... The presence of the foreskin may confer non specific protection of the proximal penis from acquisition of HPV infection."
<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Cook
}}</ref>
A meta-analysis performed by Dr. [[Robert S. Van Howe]] in 2006 found no significant association between circumcision status and HPV infection. "The medical literature does not support the claim that circumcision reduces the risk for genital HPV infection"<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|first=Robert S.
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|title=Human papillomavirus and circumcision: A meta-analysis
|journal=Journal of Infection
Most studies on HPV performed before 2006 had poor controls and relatively small study groups. In order to clear up this confusion, a recent 2008 study on HPV had an enormous study group of almost nine thousand men in the United States. This is currently the largest study on circumcision and HPV ever performed in the U.S. And since the study was performed in the U.S., the results are directly applicable to people who live in the U.S. The study concluded:
"The percentage of circumcised men reporting a diagnosis of genital warts was significantly higher than [[uncircumcised ]] men, 4.5% (95% CI, 3.6%–5.6%) versus 2.4% (95% CI, 1.5%–4.0%)".
<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Dinh
}}</ref>
A 2011 study on {{UNI|University of Washington |UW}} students found no correlation between circumcision and HPV.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=VanBuskirk
|first=Kelley
|date=2011-12
|accessdate=2011-09-02
}}</ref> This study tested for HPV at three sites: the [[scrotal skin|scrotum]]/[[shaft skin]], the glans, and in [[urine ]] samples. The authors of this study found that in circumcised men, the [[scrotal skin|scrotum]]/[[shaft skin ]] contained was most often the site of HPV infection. The authors also note that many large-scale studies fail to test for HPV on [[scrotal skin|scrotum]]/[[shaft skin]].
== Cure HPV? ==
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Cervical cancer]]
* [[Penile cancer]]
{{REF}}
[[Category:From Intactipedia]]
[[Category:From IntactWiki]]
[[de:Humane Papillomaviren]]