The first men have started receiving a vaccination as part of a pilot to stamp out cancers and genital disease.
The scheme went live in two clinics this week and will eventually see 40,000 men vaccinated to protect them against penile, anal and other cancers.
The project is specifically targeted at men who have sex with men, but ministers are exploring the possibility of rolling out the HPV vaccine to all boys.
The shot targets the human papillomavirus which is also the cause of cervical cancer in girls, already subject to a successful UK vaccination programme.
Health minister Jane Ellison told MPs: “I am pleased to announce that the pilot in England has already started.
“Two clinics went live yesterday and others will come on board as soon as they are ready, hopefully over the next few months.”
She explained that the initial scheme would run during 2016 to 2017 with decisions on the next steps dependent on the pilot’s progress and outcome.
Ms Ellison said more research needed to be carried out before the vaccine was pushed out to all adolescent boys.
Finchley and Golders Green MP Mike Freer, who called a debate on the issue, said it had “taken us three years to get to this point”. But he added: “I welcome the pilot and the minister’s explanation of the complexities and why we have to ensure the pilot is robustly monitored before we can take the extension of the vaccinations any further.”
HPV is associated with 80 to 85 per cent of all anal cancer in men. Some 47 per cent of penile cancers and 16 per cent of head and neck cancers are thought to be HPV-related.
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