HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection 2. HIV-positive MSMs are up to 40 times more likely to diagnosed with the disease, resulting in a rate of 80 anal cancer cases per 100,000 people.Īnal cancer is caused by the same strains of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) that cause cervical cancer in women. Their rate is about 40 cases per 100,000. Current estimates are that HIV negative MSMs are 20 times more likely to be diagnosed with anal cancer.
In fact, a standardized screening protocol for anal cancer does not yet exist.Įach year anal cancer is diagnosed in about 2 people out of every 100,000 people in the general population. Health care professionals, too, remain divided on how and whether to screen for it. However, the majority of MSM’s know little about the disease, have ever been tested for it, nor know that screening tests exit. Among men who have sex with men (MSM), the incidence of anal cancer is significantly more prevalent and increasing annually 1. Few people knew about it before Farrah Fawcett made public her struggle with the illness. In the general population, anal cancer is a rare disease.
