I read in an Atlantic piece that there was a "sex recession" [1] - many sociological studies show that people are having less sex than decades prior. It's counter-intuitive, but the data in the article meets my anecdotal observation (and I don't even live in the US). Assuming both articles are somewhat accurate the correlation would pull in opposite directions.
Some recent studies suggest that even HPV-infected individuals benefit from the HPV vaccine, decreasing the likelihood of symptomatic illness. The age of eligibility in many countries has been raised to 45. Here in Canada I know it is being given to particularly high risk individuals with boosters in some clinics.
But it's expensive. And only covered for teenagers and young adults here, otherwise about $400.
It was definitely a thing, much harder to get insurance to pay for it for guys. Maybe it changed in the US, but it looks like Canada for example still discriminates based on gender: https://immunizebc.ca/hpv
In the US, years ago, it was possible to get if you were a guy between 18-25 but you really had to demand it and confirm/claim a low number of sexual partners. Not sure if that's still the case, hopefully not.
When I said, "isn't really" I meant "is hardly." Penile cancer is incredibly rare, I don't think HPV would be an explanation for colorectal cancer rising in the entire population, which is mostly what I was referring to. It seems to be gay men in which HPV eventually becomes colorectal cancer. Not to mention we now have a vaccine. So there has to be something else.
Point taken. I was reacting to your post as stated because it's often said that HPV is not a cancer risk for men. You're correct that it wouldn't explain a general rise in colorectal cancer across the board.
