Remicade and HPV

[novax67]

Any other men out there taking Remicade that have been exposed to the high risk HPV? My girlfriend recently found out she has the virus during annual visit to her GYN. I have read some bad stories about he low risk types giving people with Crohn's on anti-TNF having a hard time shedding them. I was concerned about the long-term effect of potential cancer if my immune system is unable to shake this while on Remicade. Thank you.

 

[eleanor_rigby]

Hello I have HPV and I am on azathioprine so same issue as you - immune system is too suppressed to fight it off. Although I am female I can relate. Yes I get Pap smears but the HPV can affect more than just the cervix. It can cause all forms of genital cancer, anal cancer (even if you haven't had anal sex) and throat cancer if you have done oral sex. Of all of these, there is only a cervical cancer screening system in place. So nothing for men and there is absolutely nothing we can do about the other cancers. My advice would be to regularly check yourself for lumps and bumps, report any sign of suspected hemmorhoids to the GP, mentioning you have HPV and get regular dental checkups as they can diagnosis oral cancers.

Other than that please be reassured all these cancers are very rare. There is a cervical cancer screening program in place because that cancer is common. My smear test in March was actually normal surprisingly so maybe our bodies can still somewhat fight it.