Rebecca Brice reported this story on Friday, July 13, 2012 18:30:00

MARK COLVIN: Boys who grow up to be gay men are expected to benefit most from the Federal Government's decision to give the Gardasil vaccine to more high school students.



Researchers say young heterosexual men have so far had some protection from the human papillomavirus (HPV), that's because their female partners received the vaccine when they were younger.



Rebecca Brice reports.



REBECCA BRICE: Gardasil is often referred to as the cervical cancer vaccine but the human papillomavirus which causes cervical cancer is also responsible for other diseases.



Professor Christopher Fairley is the director of the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre at the Alfred Hospital.



CHRISTOPHER FAIRLEY: So the malignancies that this virus causes are cervical cancer in women, vulvar cancer in women and anal cancer in women and throat cancer.



And in men it causes penile cancer, which is relatively rare, throat cancer, which is becoming increasingly common and anal cancer as well.



REBECCA BRICE: Since 2007 the vaccine has been given to high school girls.



Professor Fairley says that's also helped their sexual partners.



CHRISTOPHER FAIRLEY: Because heterosexual men have sex with those women they'll be protected to some degree as well.



REBECCA BRICE: Professor Fairley says that's evident in the dramatic reduction in the numbers of people presenting at his Melbourne clinic with a disease that's also caused by the human papillomavirus, genital warts.



CHRISOPHER FAIRLEY: So at our centre, Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, we have seen the number of women less than 21 presenting with genital warts, which is an acute marker of infection with this virus, fall from 20 per cent to 2 per cent over about four years time, since 2007 to 2011.



Exactly the same thing has happened in heterosexual men, it's gone from 23 per cent down to 3 per cent.



REBECCA BRICE: But that change hasn't occurred in the gay community and as such they're not getting protection from cancers too.



CHRISOPHER FAIRLEY: The people who aren't protected are homosexual men and anal cancer is much more common in homosexual men than it is in the heterosexual community.



We're seeing increasing cases of throat cancer associated with the HPV virus as well.



REBECCA BRICE: He believes that will change when the vaccine is provided to 12 and 13-year-old boys in what the Federal Government says is a world first.



CHRISTOPHER FAIRLEY: So by vaccinating men, you provide better protection against these malignancies for all men, including heterosexual and homosexual men.



And because men are vaccinated you provide some protection to women who haven't had the vaccine as well.



REBECCA BRICE: Shane Dinnison is the chief executive of the AIDS Council of South Australia.



SHANE DINNISON: We're getting consistent information about older gay men, who have anal cancers and are having to undergo quite aggressive radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and particularly men who are HIV positive are particularly more prone to anal cancers because of suppressed immune systems.



REBECCA BRICE: He says health groups and HIV prevention agencies have been lobbying for years to include boys in the vaccine program.



SHANE DINNISON: Once you're exposed to it there's no protection. So the best thing that we can do is stop young gay men being exposed to it. So if young men and boys are vaccinated at 12-13 before they become sexually active, the notion of them actually contracting anal cancers is reduced significantly.



REBECCA BRICE: But he says that doesn't mean they should become complacent.



SHANE DINNISON: Of course the best protection from any form of STI is use a condom.



REBECCA BRICE: Joe Tooma from the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation is also backing the extension of the vaccine.



JOE TOOMA: Four out of five people, doesn't matter what your sexual orientation, are going to be exposed to human papillomavirus, HPVs as we call them, and will be at risk of cancers that will cause death.



So as you say, heterosexual men are being protected to some degree by the fact that women are being vaccinated but yes, homosexual men are not necessarily protected at all unless boys are actually vaccinated and all males get the protection.



REBECCA BRICE: Boys will start receiving Gardasil from next year.



MARK COLVIN: Rebecca Brice.