Genital Warts in Men (HPV Virus) (cont.)

There is no treatment for asymptomatic HPV infection. Instead, doctors treat the health problems that are caused by the HPV virus.

When genital warts appear, a variety of treatments can be used. The patient can apply prescription creams at home. Or a doctor can surgically remove or freeze off the warts.

Early treatment of warts is discouraged by some doctors because genital warts can go away on their own. It can also take time for all warts to appear. So a person who treats warts as soon as they appear may need another treatment later on.

Anal cancer can be treated with radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery. The specific treatments depend on the stage of cancer - how big the tumor is and how far the cancer has spread.

The HPV vaccine Gardasil, approved for use in women in 2006, is not yet approved for men.

Studies are still being done to determine if the vaccine works in males. Eventually, public health experts say, boys and men may be vaccinated.

If a man's long-term sexual partner has HPV, chances are good HPV transmission has already occurred and he also has it. HPV in men may clear from the body more easily than in women. Women, in general, often clear the virus in two years or less.

The HPV types associated with cervical cancer usually do not cause health problems for a heterosexual man having sex with an HPV-infected woman.

If a partner has HPV, it does not necessarily mean they have had sex with someone else recently. The virus can lay dormant in the body for years without causing noticeable symptoms.

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Source: MedicineNet.com
http://www.medicinenet.com/genital_warts_in_men_hpv_virus/article.htm