Wednesday, February 4, 2009

'Baby boomers' hit by sex cancers

via BBC

The arrival of the "swinging sixties" may have heralded a rise in sexually-transmitted cancers, say researchers.

Rates of anal, vulval and vaginal cancers rose for "baby boomers" born in the decades after the Second World War.

Excerpt:

Dr David Robinson, who led the study, said: "These results have revealed a snapshot of just how much rates of these cancers have increased in the post war generations.

"For anal cancer, rates are now higher in women than in men - however, programmes of vaccination against HPV, whilst aimed primarily at reducing the burden of cervical cancer, may also help to reduce the incidence of cancers at these other sites."

Dr Lesley Walker, from Cancer Research UK, said that it was important people understood the dangers linked to HPV.

"Using a condom will lower the risk of exposure to the virus. HPV vaccines are an important advance for future generations, but the cervical screening programme remains vitally important in detecting any changes that might lead to cancer."

Read the whole thing on the BBC.


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