A new study from a Toronto cancer centre suggests Nova Scotia could save money by vaccinating young boys against the human papilloma virus, or HPV.
The provincial government announced in its latest budget that it will fund the vaccination for Grade 7 boys, as it already does for girls.
Recently retired MLA Gordie Gosse was diagnosed with throat cancer, caused by HPV, a year ago. He is pleased the government has supported his calls to provide the vaccine to young boys.
“The HPV virus is causing a lot of throat cancer in men all across Canada, and what it meant to me was I wouldn’t have throat cancer today and (be) retiring as an MLA if it wasn’t for this,” Gosse said.
Gosse stepped down on April 2, and a week later the province announced it will provide the vaccine to boys in Grade 7.
“It is a prime opportunity to provide this vaccine to children of that age, before they start to make decisions around sexual onset,” said Elaine Holmes of the Nova Scotia Department of Health.
The vaccine has been offered to Grade 7 girls in the province since 2007.
New research out today from the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto indicates HPV-related cancers, such as head and neck cancers, are on the rise.
“Just an estimate, there are over 1,000 cases in Canada,” said study co-author Dr. Lillian Siu. “Even in our hospital alone, we would see at least 100 to 150 cases, perhaps even more, per year. And we’re seeing this on a yearly basis in an increasing frequency.”
The study looked at the effectiveness of vaccinating young boys. More than 190,000 12-year-olds were involved in the research. By vaccinating them against HPV, the estimated cost savings was between $8 million and $28 million over the course of their lifetimes.
The Canadian Cancer Society says cost effectiveness is one piece of research that has been missing.
“Certainly this study has provided a lot of the foundation and a lot of the evidence that I think a lot of the provinces would really need and would really want to see to be able to want to move forward. So we’re optimistic that would be the case,” said Kelly Cull of the Canadian Cancer Society’s Nova Scotia division.
Gordie Gosse said Monday he would like to see the vaccine extended to reach people between the ages of nine and 26.
“That’s the age group I’d like to see included, because we’ve missed quite a few young people and I don’t want somebody to end up like myself,” Gosse said.
Nova Scotia is the third province to offer the vaccine to boys, joining Prince Edward Island and Alberta. It will cost an estimated $492,000 for the program.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jackie Foster
