Vol. 44 (5): 862-864, September – October, 2018
doi: 10.1590/S1677-5538.IBJU.2018.05.03
DIFFERENCE OF OPINION
Paulo Ornellas 1, Antonio Augusto Ornellas 2, 3
1 Departamento de Patologia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil; 2 Departamento de Urologia, Instituto Nacional do Câncer (INCA), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil; 3 Instituto de Pós-Graduação Médica Carlos Chagas, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
Keywords: Human papillomavirus; Penile Neoplasms; Vaccination, Male
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a DNA virus that presents tropism for epithelial cells, causing infections of the skin and mucous membranes. It is transmitted by direct contact of a healthy skin or mucosa with an affected skin or mucosa. Until now, more than 200 types of HPVs have been discovered (1). Approximately 30 types infect the anal and genital mucosa. Types that can also be detected in the oral mucosa are classified according to risk of causing lesions or their potential for malignancy. Such as “low risk” are included types 6 and 11 (more incidents) and as “high risk” the types 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59 and 66 (2). Human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection, is responsible for 99.7% of cases of cervical cancer (3) and 530,000 new cases of cervical cancer globally every year (4). In addition, HPV is also responsible for some head and neck cancers, penile cancers and the majority of anal cancers (5). The incidence of these cancers is on the rise. Globally, HPV types 16 and 18 are responsible for 38,000 (85%) new cases of head and neck cancers and 35,000 (87%) cases of anal cancers (4).
