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Circumcision lowers precancerous lesions

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., July 29 (UPI) -- Male circumcision lowers prevalence of penile precancerous lesions among men in Kenya, a team of international researchers say.

A University of North Carolina-led international study found human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted virus, plays an important role in genital cancers in men and women, including cancers of the penis and cervix.

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"Our data are the first to show that male circumcision may reduce HPV-associated penile precancerous lesions," senior author Jennifer Smith of the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health says in a statement. "This represents an additional public health benefit of male circumcision."

The study was part of a larger trial undertaken to determine the effectiveness of male circumcision in reducing HIV incidence conducted by Robert Bailey of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

In the UNC-led study, 275 men participated -- 151 who were circumcised and 124 who were not.

"The percentage of men with HPV-associated precancerous penile lesions was substantially higher among those who were not circumcised -- 26 percent -- compared to those who were circumcised at .7 percent," Smith says. "Interventions that reduce HPV-associated penile lesions could be important to both men and women, because such lesions may increase HPV transmission from men to their sexual partners."

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