Very Few Gay and Bi Men With HIV Get Screened for Anal Cancer

Models for illustrative purposes only. Istock

Just 11 percent got anal pap smears in a recent study.

October 31, 2016

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Only 11 percent of HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) get anal pap smears to test for anal cancer or precancerous cell changes, aidsmap reports. And despite the fact that this group is at greater risk for human papillomavirus (HPV), abnormal cell changes in the anus and anal cancer, there are still no associated national screening guidelines.


Presenting their findings at IDWeek 2016 in New Orleans, researchers studied data from the 2009 to 2012 Medical Monitoring Project. They looked at information on a nationally representative sample of 914 HIV-positive MSM who were screened for anal cancer during the previous 12 months and compared them with 7,470 MSM who had not been screened or had no record of having been screened.


Eleven percent of the HIV-positive MSM were screened for anal cancer during the previous year.

A respective 7 percent, 12 percent and 13 percent of black, Latino and white men were screened for anal cancer. Ten percent of smokers were screened, compared with 12 percent of nonsmokers. Thirteen percent of those who reported receptive anal sex were screened, compared with 10 percent of those who did not report anal sex.


To read the aidsmap article, click here.


To read the conference abstract, click here.

Read more articles from POZ, here.