Findings

Congress finds the following: (1) Human papillomavirus (in this section referred to as HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States, with a significant proportion of HPV-related cancers, particularly oropharyngeal cancers, occurring among men. (2) There is currently no HPV diagnostic test for men that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration, creating a critical gap in public health surveillance, prevention, and treatment. (3) The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, in its 2023 report titled National Cancer Control Efforts Should Address the System, Not Its Individual Parts, emphasized the importance of coordinated, system-wide strategies for cancer prevention. (4) Expanding HPV detection efforts to include men would promote gender equity in cancer prevention and enhance national cancer control and public health outcomes. (5) The absence of a standardized HPV diagnostic test for men contributes to sustained transmission pathways and delayed detection that directly impact women’s health outcomes, including cervical cancer incidence, thereby reinforcing inequities in cancer prevention.