Yes. Genital HPV is probably as common in men as in women, since it is passed from one person to another mainly through sex. But HPV is not as easily diagnosed in men.
HPV has been linked to certain kinds of head and neck cancers in both men and women. And some types of HPV have been linked to cancer of the penis and anus in men. Cancer of the penis is rare, but anal cancer is now almost as common in men and women who have anal sex as cervical cancer was in women before the Pap test was introduced. But even though anal sex greatly raises a person's risk of anal cancer, it is not the only way to get anal HPV or anal cancer.
Like women, men do not have symptoms with HPV unless they have a type that causes genital warts. In men, genital warts can appear around the anus or on the penis, scrotum, groin, or thighs.
At this time, there is no test approved to detect HPV in men. But genital warts can be found and treated.
While women have the Pap test to detect early HPV-related cervical cancers, there are no approved tests to detect early anal cancers in men or women. Anal cancer screening tests are being studied in some people at high risk for anal cancer, such as those with HIV infection. To date, no such test has proven to work well enough to recommend routine use.
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