HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer early detection in gay and bisexual men is an “orphan” practice: A qualitative analysis among healthcare providers

Zoschke, I Niles; Bennis, Sarah L.; Wilkerson, J. Michael; Stull, Cynthia L.; Nyitray, Alan G.; Khariwala, Samir S.; Nichols, C. Mark; Rosser, B. R. Simon; Flash, Charline; Ross, Michael W.

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1165107

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 27 publications

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“…However, recent previous research with practitioners ( 16 ) has indicated that clinical screening for OPSCC in the US is an “orphan” practice, with physicians infrequently screening GBM for OPSCC unless symptoms are reported, while dentists may limit their inspection to the oral cavity but not the oropharynx. This is despite practitioners with significant numbers of GBM patients being aware of the heightened risk of HPV-associated OPSCC in GBM.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oral/oropharyngeal “selfies” in gay and bisexual men: a pilot study exploring oropharyngeal screening for HPV-related possible malignancies

Ross,

Bennis,

Nichols

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

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ObjectivesThis study aims to determine the potential uptake and quality of oropharyngeal “selfies” taken by gay/bisexual men as a screening approach for HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer.MethodsFrom 1,699 gay/bisexual men in the US, surveyed about knowledge and attitudes to HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer, a random sample of 320 men were invited to take an oropharyngeal “selfie” by smartphone and send it to the study website: 113 (35.5%) did so. Images were rated for quality by three healthcare professional raters blinded to each other's rating, with an otolaryngologist as the gold standard. In the second wave, those whose images were rated as unacceptable were sent a short instructional video and asked to send another image. Of the 65 invited, 46 did so. An additional 15.2% sent acceptable images, and a total of 28.3% of the sample was acceptable.ResultsA total of 1,121 men willing to participate in the future study who believed they could take a quality “oral selfie” were potentially eligible for this activity. A random sample of 320 participated: 153 participants started (47.8%) and 113 participants (35.3%) submitted an image. Responders were more likely to be younger, have higher knowledge scores on oropharyngeal HPV-related cancer, and have had HPV vaccination. There was high agreement between the three raters. Images of good/acceptable quality were 22.1%; oropharynx partially occluded images were 29.2%; oropharynx not visible images were 18.6%; images too dark were 21.2%; and images too small were 8.8%. From the second wave of requests with instructional videos, an additional 15.2% sent in quality images, with the remaining issues being partial occlusion of the tonsils by the tongue.ConclusionOne-third of the invited gay and bisexual men sent oropharyngeal selfie images to the study website and a total of 28.3% were of clinically acceptable quality. Following an instructional video on poorer-quality images, additional quality images were received. One barrier, i.e., partial occlusion of the oropharynx by the tongue remained. Quality oropharyngeal “selfies” are obtainable online.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oral/oropharyngeal “selfies” in gay and bisexual men: a pilot study exploring oropharyngeal screening for HPV-related possible malignancies

Ross,

Bennis,

Nichols

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

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Correlates of human papillomavirus vaccination intent for oropharyngeal cancer prevention among gay and bisexual men living in the United States

Stull,

Bennis,

Rosser

et al. 2024

The Journal of the American Dental Association

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RETRACTED: The Influence of Tobacco Use, Hazardous Drinking, and Other Risk Factors on HPV-Associated Oropharyngeal Cancer Risk and Screening Perceptions among Gay and Bisexual Men: A Cross-sectional Study

Zoschke,

Bennis,

Tang

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Background: Oropharyngeal cancer is the 8th most common cancer among US men and its incidence is sharply rising. Oropharyngeal cancer manifests in two major ways: the classic form is prevalent among people who use alcohol and tobacco heavily, while a growing subset of incident cases is associated is associated with human papillomavirus-16 (HPV) and transmitted via oral sex. Gay and bisexual men appear at higher risk for each etiologic subset of oropharyngeal cancer than heterosexual men. We conducted a cross-sectional study to learn how tobacco use, hazardous drinking, and other key risk factors affect gay and bisexual men’s perceptions of oropharyngeal cancer risk and beliefs about screening at a doctor’s office and self-screening at home. Methods: We recruited 1699 gay and bisexual men from two dating websites to participate in an online survey. We asked about tobacco use, alcohol consumption, sexual history, and other risk factors for oropharyngeal cancer. The survey also investigated participants’ perceptions of oropharyngeal cancer risk and potential worry related to screening. We analyzed results at the bivariate level and in multivariable regression models. Results: Average age of participants was 41.5 (SD = 12.7) years. Most were cisgender (95%), and identified as gay (80%), while 19 percent were bisexual or pansexual, with 2 percent reporting being queer or a self-described sexuality. Factors associated with high perceived oropharyngeal cancer risk perceptions were cigarette smoking, using both cigarettes and vaping, being gay identified, number of sexual partners in the last 12 months, and having poor mouth/teeth condition. Factors associated with oropharyngeal cancer screening worry were being Hispanic, having queer/self-described sexuality, not having health insurance, and having poor mouth/teeth condition. No factors were associated with self-screening at home. Alcohol use was not associated with oropharyngeal cancer risk perception. Conclusions: This is the first study examine oropharyngeal cancer risk factors and risk perceptions among gay and bisexual men. Health promotion efforts to reduce oropharyngeal cancer risk among gay and bisexual men should involve comprehensive oral health, sexual health, and tobacco use education. Researchers should continue investigating acceptable and effective home self-screening methods for HPV-associated cancers.

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HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer early detection in gay and bisexual men is an “orphan” practice: A qualitative analysis among healthcare providers

Cited by 3 publications

References 27 publications

Oral/oropharyngeal “selfies” in gay and bisexual men: a pilot study exploring oropharyngeal screening for HPV-related possible malignancies

Oral/oropharyngeal “selfies” in gay and bisexual men: a pilot study exploring oropharyngeal screening for HPV-related possible malignancies

Correlates of human papillomavirus vaccination intent for oropharyngeal cancer prevention among gay and bisexual men living in the United States

RETRACTED: The Influence of Tobacco Use, Hazardous Drinking, and Other Risk Factors on HPV-Associated Oropharyngeal Cancer Risk and Screening Perceptions among Gay and Bisexual Men: A Cross-sectional Study

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