Hey Fredo,

I was just wondering if you know of any FDA approved hpv tests that will be coming to the market for males in the near of distant future? Do you know of any research that is being done now that is heading in the direction of marketing FDA approved tests for males? Since no FDA approved test is out now for males, if a male is infected with HPV how would that male be able to know if the virus is cleared from their system or not? Do you think that a biopsy is a safe alternate testing method for males even though it is not FDA approved? If so, how accurate is a biopsy at detecting the presence of the hpv virus is in a male’s system? Can a biopsy adversely affect erectile function and possibly leave behind scars?

Hey there infoSTD,

To my knowledge, none of the test makers have asked the FDA to consider licensing their test for use with guys, and I'm not aware of any imminent plans to do so. HPV tests don't measure things like "is the virus contagious?" and I can't imagine these tests will be approved for males anytime soon. Not like I haven't been wrong before, of course....

Biopsy isn't used too often, and is reserved more for when a lesion (like a suspected wart) is present but the diagnosis is unclear. An expert in diagnosing and treating warts recently told me that "95% of the time, a visual inspection is sufficient to give a reliable diagnosis" but that biopsy, when used, is very helpful and dependable. Can't imagine biopsy would have any long-term effect on sexual function, and not sure about scarring - ask your health care provider about all this.

Best,
Fredo

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Men must be tested. It is unfair to women when they cannot determine if their partner has the virus that can give them cancer. Women's groups need to be lobbying the FDA for an approved test for men if for no other reason than this. Women can catch the cancer-causing HPV virus from men, so they have the right to know if their partner has it. Men must be tested.

I'm a male and I was just tested for HPV in a private clinic in Taipei.
They took samples of cells by swabbing the skin. non intrusive, doesn't hurt. Now they send it to the lab. They use PCR + Auto-sequencing method to identify the HPV genotype and virus burden. I have no clue why this test is not available in the west. it's ashame I would say.

Hey Fredo, was is your knowledge of this quote? what do you think? Is this really possible??

In for answer from Fredo.

Hey pavemagd,

Would greatly appreciate it if you could tells us what continent you are on and what State and City you were tested in and the results of the hpv test that they performed on you as soon as there in ok.

I'm currently in Taiwan, Taipei. still don't have the results yet.
I don't live here btw. I would happily undergo those tests back at home but it's not FDA approved I guess...

If no FDA approved tests are available for men then why are there other ways of detecting the virus and/or genital warts in men? If other tests (PCR, Biopsy, Culture, etc) can detect the virus or lesions, why can't any of these tests be FDA approved?? Does accuracy have anything to do with these other possible tests for males? If these tests can be performed, how accurate are they at detecting the virus and/or gential warts in men?? What is your knowledge about this Fredo??

One of the reason that there is no test for men is because the CDC and others will say, falsely in my opinion, that other than warts, there are no other risks to men. Then they will say, penis cancer is possible too, but rarely. Well, despite the rarity, shouldn't that be enough reason to create a test. There is a test to help prevent cervical cancer, and rightfully so, but there should also be a test to screen for penis cancer.

I think also there will come a day when HPV is found to cause many ailments which are currently not attributed to HPV. There's over 100 strains and they only cause warts and cancer?

HPV can cause throat cancer. while rare altogether, this is more common in men than in women. but I'm no expert.

Sure, HPV tests can be done with men. Never a question about that, and some clinics do them "off label" in the U.S. The reason they aren't typically done with men is that many questions remain unanswered.

For example, a "negative" test doesn't mean HPV isn't there: it could be that it exists in skin cells that weren't sampled, or the quality of the sample might be in question (bit trickier to get an adequate specimen here with men as compared with women), or the virus might simply exist at undetectable levels. A "positive" test doesn't tell you if the person is able to transmit the virus, how long they may have had HPV, at what point it's likely to be cleared by the immune system, or if they'll ever develop any skin lesions that require treatment.

Having said that, if someone wants to have an HPV test and finds a clinic that's willing to do it, then it's certainly up to them. I'm not saying guys shouldn't have HPV tests, just that it isn't clear exactly how helpful it is to men or their partners.

Even with women, for example, HPV testing isn't done randomly or across the board: it's used as part of cervical cancer screening. They don't do tests on the vagina, vulva, perianal area, etc.

Fredo

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Not to swerve this thread in a different direction Fredo, but out of curiosity are they giving any more thought to vaccinating men in the US? I can't help but think that if they are real about preventing disease then they need to reduce the pool of infected individuals?

So even if an infected male does not have gential warts but decides to get a biopsy in hopes of getting a more accurate test for hpv, would the biopsy be a better means of detecting the virus since a sample of skin and DNA is taken, no matter where or how many samples are taken? If a DNA sample of skin taken by a biopsy is used to be tested for hpv will the results be more accurate or most likely detect if hpv is present since the virus interacts with and affects DNA? One of my Doctors told me that hpv interacts with an infected person’s DNA and becomes apart of it or alters it in some way. Is this true? What is your knowledge on how hpv interacts with DNA and whether or not a biopsy is a more accurate means of getting tested for hpv (less chance for false negatives)? What is the possibility of getting false negatives from biopsies?

Why can't blood be tested for HPV?