New federal recommendations ask that the human papillomavirus vaccine now be administered to young boys as well as girls. According to the New York Times, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are suggesting that boys received the vaccine starting at the age of nine.

The advantage of vaccinating boys at such an early age is the additional time HPV antibodies have to develop before sexual maturity is reached, Michael Brady of Nationwide Children’s Hospital said.

“If you wait until you think they’re sexually active, you may miss the opportunity to protect them,” Brady said.

The vaccine was previously pushed toward young girls as a way to prevent cervical cancer, which can stem from HPV infection. Now, federal health authorities are saying HPV antibodies can also help lower the risk of head, neck and anal cancers in both sexes.

New data suggests that HPV is now a common sexually transmitted disease, with one in 15 Americans infected with the oral form of the virus. Oral HPV was also shown to disproportionately affect men, the CDC report said.

The recommendations come in the form of the CDC’s annual vaccination schedule, which was released for adolescents and adults this week. Other changes in federal guidelines include hepatitis B vaccinations for diabetics and a booster shot for pregnant women.

A warning to men considering a pricey new treatment for prostate cancer called proton therapy: Research suggests it might have more side effects than traditional radiation does.

A study of Medicare records found that men treated with proton beams later had one-third more bowel problems, such as bleeding and blockages, than similar men given conventional radiation.

This is an observational study so it is not definitive, but it is one of the largest to compare these treatments. Proton therapy is rapidly growing in use - Medicare covers it - even though no rigorous studies have tested whether it is as safe or effective as usual care.

It costs around $48,000 - at least twice as much as other prostate radiation treatments. Hospitals are rushing to build proton centers, and nine are operating now - sites include Boston, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Fla., and Loma Linda, Calif., east of Los Angeles. Promoters often claim it is less likely to cause complications.

"There's no clear evidence that proton therapy is better" for prostate cancer, and the new results suggest it may cause more complications, said Dr. Ronald Chen, a radiation specialist at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

The world’s second oldest case of prostate cancer was found in a 2,200-year-old mummy, the Canadian Press reports. According to American University in Cairo professor Salima Ikram, extensive testing of the mummy revealed that the disease was not caused by environmental influences, but rather by genetics.

“Living conditions in ancient times were very different,” Ikram explained. “There were no pollutants or modified foods, which leads up to believe that the disease is not necessarily only linked to industrial factors.”

Whether prostate cancer is caused by genetics or environmental factors is a big question in the field of cancer research, the Canadian Press said.  While scientists often link cancer to diet and industrial toxins, older cases of cancer suggest that genetics may play a role as well.

Ikram and her team have been studying the ancient Egyptian mummy in Portugal for the past two years. The prostate cancer was discovered by using a high-resolution computerized tomography (CT) scan, which revealed lesions on the mummy’s lumbar spine.

The man died in his forties, researchers say. The mummy is kept at the National Archaeology Museum of Lisbon.

The oldest known case of prostate cancer was found in a 2,700-year-old skeleton of a Scythian king in Russia, AUC said in a statement. His skeleton was found in a steppe in Southern Siberia.

For men with early stage prostate cancer, a new treatment may be available. According to HealthDay News, new research shows that a drug designed to treat enlarged prostate glands may actually help slow the progression of cancer and reduce the need for more aggressive treatment.

Researchers at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto believe that administering Avodart to patients in the early stages of prostate cancer will help patients become more comfortable with a concept called “watchful waiting.” Because prostate cancer is a slow moving disease, most men are encouraged to simply monitor themselves in the early stages following diagnosis. This can make men uncomfortable, said study author Neil Fleshner.

“The concept of active surveillance is gaining traction in most parts of the world,” said Fleshner, who heads the urology division at the hospital. “By using this drug, we can improve the proportion of men who remain committed to the surveillance.”

In fact, although one out of every six men in the United States will develop prostate cancer in his lifetime, most will die of something else. The U.S. National Cancer Institute says this is because of the low-grade, slow moving nature of prostate cancer. But because patients don’t like doing nothing in the face of a cancer diagnosis, doctors are looking for an appropriate, low-grade treatment.

Men with fatal prostate cancer may have had a lower risk of dying if they had taken cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins, research shows. According to Reuters Health, statins aren’t directly tied to fighting cancer, but the observed link suggests that lowering cholesterol could help reduce the overall risk of fatal disease.

“People may be on these medications for their heart, but it may actually be doing them some good for their prostate,” explained study author Stephen Marcella of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. “If a person’s on the fence about taking a statin medication for their heart, this is another potential benefit they may have by taking one of these.”

Marcella’s team reached their findings by observing the medical records of 380 men who had died of prostate cancer compared with another comparable group of 380 without any form of life-threatening cancer. About one in four of the men in both groups combined had taken statins, Reuters said. However, the men who died from prostate cancer were only half as likely to take statins at any time—and for any duration of time—than men who did not have potentially fatal cancer.

Even when controlling for health complications and other medications, those with fatal prostate cancer were 63 percent less likely to have ever taken a statin.

There is not enough evidence to draw firm conclusions about the relationship between statins and prostate cancer yet, however.

“I would not tell a person if they don’t have a risk of heart disease, [if] they don’t have hypertension…to take a statin just to prevent lethal prostate cancer,” Marcella said.

There is also no evidence suggesting that statin use would lower the risk of the most aggressive forms of the disease, Reuters said.

Tracking prostate cancer and treating it only when the offending tumor begins to grow may be the best new option for men with low-risk cancer. According to the Associated Press, the National Institutes of Health have started to advocate “active surveillance” in these cases because the risk of the disease developing into life-threatening cancer is miniscule.

The risk for men with this type of early-stage cancer is so low, in fact, the group wants it stripped of the name “cancer.” The small tumors rarely develop into life-threatening conditions and the National Institutes of Health believe the best option may just be to wait. The group even appointed a panel monitoring the “tracking” treatment, with 100,000 men participating every year.

During active surveillance, men receive regular scans, blood tests and biopsies to check the status of the tumor. Doing so allows the men to get quick treatment if they end up needing it.

“It’s not treatment versus no treatment,” said Peter Carroll of the University of California, San Francisco. “It’s about timing of treatment.”

The benefits of waiting for treatment include avoiding immediate surgery or radiation, which carry risks such as impotence or incontinence. There is also no strong evidence that immediate treatment increases life expectancy, the AP said. One study tracked 731 men with early-stage prostate cancer over the period of 10 years, and found no difference in survival rates between men who underwent surgery and those who opted for an active surveillance method.

Treating prostate cancer with hormone-targeted therapy could increase a patient’s risk of developing a life-threatening blood clot, new research finds. As reported by Reuters Health, researchers from the Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York found that men who received hormonal therapy during prostate cancer treatment doubled the rate of blood clots in their veins, arteries and lungs.

Scientists involved in the study followed 154,000 older men, 58,000 of whom were receiving hormonal therapy. Of these men, 15 percent developed a blood clot during the four-year period. By contrast, only seven percent of men not receiving hormonal therapy developed a blood clot.

“By no means is this a trivial risk,” lead author Behfar Ehdaie told Reuters, noting that one-quarter of the men who developed blood clots ended up in the hospital. The clots could move to the lungs, heart or brain and cause serious risk of death, he said.

In addition, side effects like weight gain, bone thinning, hot flashes and erectile dysfunction have also been associated with hormonal theraoy.

However, Ehdaie did not say his findings ought to dissuade men from considering hormonal therapy. Instead, the risks ought to be compared to the benefits.

Hormonal therapy works by curbing a man’s production of testosterone, the hormone responsible for prostate cancer growth. Removal of the testicles or medication is often recommended, but is usually only done so in dire cases. In such situations, the benefits may outweigh the risks, Reuters said.

Dr. Phil McGraw assisted with his own vasectomy, the talk-show host revealed in an article published Tuesday in Newsweek.

McGraw, now 61, was 29 when his wife Robin was pregnant with their son Jay, and decided one child was enough. McGraw's doctor friend offered the chance to come into his office and "help" with the procdure, handing him surgical instruments during the operation. 

"It’s painful when they kind of pull on it," the former psychologist wrote.

McGraw got the vasectomy reversed six years later when wife Robin said she regretted having only one child. During his appearance on ABC's "The View" this week, he described the procedure as his "biggest regret." His doctor friend offered to perform the reversal that same day.

"They say, “Take your shirt off,” and they start plugging me into IVs," McGraw wrote in the article. "I remember being in recovery and the doctors saying, “Wake up! We have to get you out of here.” They drag me out with one arm over each shoulder and drive me home. They dump me on the curb later that night." Six weeks later, McGraw's wife was pregnant with Jordan, their second son.

A Movember party held at a local pub in New Zealand raised $1,000 towards men’s health, New Zealand-based newspaper The Marlborough Express reports.

Movember is an annual, month-long charity event held in November that raises funds and awareness for men’s health issues. To participate, men have to grow their mustache for the month of November.

Proceeds from the party went to the Marlborough Cancer Society.

The winner of the best mustache contest was Jim Schofield of Blenheim, who made an agreement with his staff at Fisher Windows Marlborough to grow his mustache to raise awareness for prostate cancer.

According to The Marlborough Express, Schofield said he plans to shave the his mustache at the end of the month. "My wife will enjoy it being removed," he said told the Express. "I'll be glad to get rid of it myself. Basically at the start of the month, myself and some of the workers took on a pact to grow a mustache to see who would have the best one."

Also in attendance at the pub on Saturday was Scott Dawson, last year’s Movember winner. Along with Dawson was his wife, four sons and daughter, all of whom were donning mustaches, though some were more authentic than others.

To further promote health awareness, Paddy Barry's [pub] also had rowing machine contests. Prizes were given out to those who could reach 500 meters the fastest and for the top speed inside 20 seconds.

According to the Express, Marlborough Cancer Society health promoter Teresa Goza said the fundraising day was a fantastic event.

Movember, a month-long charity event that raises funds and awareness for men’s health, continues to add more participants, as 11 male members of the staff at Clifton Green Primary School in York, UK grow their facial hair to help raise money for health issues common to men, The Press reports.

According to The Press, Simon White, one of the teachers involved in Movember, said that female staff, children and parents have all been very supportive so far, with many of them giving donations.

“It's good that it highlights men’s health issues as there's not a lot in the news – it's something that challenges the pink events,” White told The Press.

While the teachers are not sure how much money they’ve raised so far, they said they are hoping to raise as much as possible as team Clifton Green Primary, The Press reports.

Meanwhile, civic leaders are deciding to join in the annual celebration as well. Coun James Alexander, the Labour leader of City of York Council, told The Press: “I have raised £318 so far and the Labour team has done £1,072 in total, which we are chuffed about because we never thought we would raise that much.

“Labour councillor Brian Watson agreed that if we reached £1,000 he would shave off his beard and moustache at the end of the month. I have never seen him without one, so it's going to be very interesting.”