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Roughly 39,000 human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers (those at anatomic sites associated with HPV) were diagnosed in the U.S. each year from 2008 through 2012. The age-adjusted incidence rate for this period was 11.7 per 100,000 people, representing an increase over the previous 5-year period, when the rate was 10.8 per 100,000.
CDC researchers analyzed 2008–2012 data from population-based cancer registries. The most common HPV-associated cancers were cervical and oropharyngeal. Cervical cancers were diagnosed more often among blacks and Hispanics than among whites. Oropharyngeal cancers were more common among males than among females, while anal and rectal cancers were more common among females.
Of the HPV-associated cancers diagnosed each year, roughly 80% were actually attributable to HPV; of these, nearly 93% were caused by HPV strains for which vaccines are available.
Viens LJ et al. Human papillomavirus–associated cancers — United States, 2008–2012. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016 Jul 8; 65:661. (http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6526a1)
Comment — Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
HPV vaccine was licensed for use in females in 2007 and in males in 2010. Uptake is modest at best for this cancer-preventing vaccine. This reported increase in HPV-associated cancers for both men and women should be a reminder to strongly advocate for HPV vaccine for all preteens.