Cervical cancer vaccination could help men
A drug used to prevent women getting cervical cancer could also be effective in protecting men from a sexually transmitted disease and pre-cancerous lesions, a study suggests.
Merck's Gardasil injection - administered routinely to US females aged between nine and 26 - protects against human papillomavirus (HPV).
Gardasil prevented 90 per cent of external genital lesions, including some strains of genital warts, in men aged between 16 and 26 who were not infected with any of the four vaccine HPV types.
HPV infection can cause many different types of cancer and genital warts and has been linked to tumours of the penis and anus in men.
The study was funded by the drug company itself and is the first of its kind to centre on the effects of Gardasil on men.
Merck indicated it intends to get the drug approved in the US for use on men.
Partners of women with Well Woman cancer health insurance policies should also bear in mind breast cancer insurance is be appropriate for both sexes - a small minority of cases each year are diagnosed in men. 
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