HPV and Oropharyngeal Cancer in Men Research Paper

HPV and Oropharyngeal Cancer in Men - Research Paper Example Seppa (2011) explains that though the virus was previously believed to infect women and not men, observations, in history, have indicated high rates of infection among men. This means that while the infection was previously ‘non-existent’ in men, or otherwise previously not detected in men, cases of viral infections have increasingly been reported among men to an extent that men are now equally vulnerable to the viral infection as women are. Further research has also proved that varieties of types of the HPV virus are sexually transmitted and hence the infection in men that occurs during contacts in sexual interactions. As a result, the viral infection in men is not a recent emergence, but has either been existed in history without being noticed, or has taken some time to rise from a zero prevalence rate to its current prevalence rate that equals the rate among women. The history of the relationship between HPV and Oropharyngeal Cancer in men has also been significantly reported with an increasing trend in men bellow fifty years of age. Marur et al. explains that the cancer has particularly been increasing among the category of men in the past years (2010). The authors particularly relate the cancer to â€Å"human papillomavirus 16 infection† (p. 781). ... Research developments that have revealed the extent of vulnerability of men with respect to Oropharyngeal cancer have also identified HPV as an increasingly developing risk factor towards Oropharyngeal cancer infections (D'Souza, G., & Dempsey, A. 2011). Statement of problem This paper seeks to discuss significant research and data that has been developed over HPV and Oropharyngeal Cancer in men with the aim of exploring HPV as a contemporary issue facing nurse practitioners and established relationship between HPV and Oropharyngeal Cancer in men. The paper will also research into the role of nurse practitioner with respect to HPV and Oropharyngeal Cancer in men. Literature review The general perception that has in the past existed that HPV infections are associated with women and not men is still felt as little research has been conducted to understand men’s opinions and knowledge over the infection. A research conducted by Brewer et al. indicated that a majority of men have not yet understood the relationship between HPV infections and cancer. In the research that sought to establish the perception among heterosexual men and homosexual men, the authors established that men are oblivious of the possible infections that are associated with HPV. Only about 40 percent of the respondents, for example, were aware that HPV could lead to genital warts. Similarly, less than a quarter of the respondents were aware that HPV could cause either anal cancer or oral cancer. There is therefore a high level of ignorance over the relationship between HPV and Oropharyngeal Cancer in men. Though a significant majority of the respondents associated sexual interactions with infections such as â€Å"genital warts and anal cancer,† they did not specifically identify the