First the HPV which causes genital warts is not one of the versions that causes malignancies, so the doctor is right in this case. Remember that there are over 100 variations of HPV. Testing for HPV in males is not as simple as females, since we don't know where to sample the person. Is it the tonsil, the penis? we just don't know. Women predominantly get the dangerous forms of HPV in association with the cervix, and that is a very small area and easy to sample. When tissues are removed, this is different than a brush biopsy like the PAP smear (the type of testing that works well in women but not in men because of lack of a specific location to sample), and those tissues can be tested for the different strains of HPV. Clearly if you are removing a papilloma (a wart like growth) you are going to find HPV in it. The difficult thing about versions 16 and 18 is that the lesions that they MAY produce, are flat and level with the skin and almost impossible to see. So the answer to your question is can they find it in a tissue sample? Yes. Can we easily screen for it in men? No. And lastly, the kinds, which produce genital warts, are not known to be risky.


Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.