This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

10 stories for International HPV Awareness Day

Add topic to email alerts

Receive an email when new articles are posted on

Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on .

Subscribe

Added to email alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

Back to Healio

We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com.

Back to Healio

Electra D. Paskett

Last year, March 4 was inaugurated as International HPV Awareness Day, due in part to efforts by the International Papillomavirus Society. This year’s campaign, “The World’s Most Viral Secret,” aims to increase the public’s understanding of the virus.

HPV is the predominant cause of cervical cancer, the fourth most common cancer among women. According to WHO, HPV accounts for 12% of all cancers affecting women in less developed regions. Last year, an estimated 311,000 women died from cervical cancer, and 85% of the deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries.

Approximately 80 million people in the United States are infected with HPV, according to the CDC.

“It is responsible for cases of genital warts (men and women), abnormal Pap test, cervical cancer, and other cancers — over 30,000 new cancers each year,” Electra D. Paskett, PhD, co-leader of the cancer control research program at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, told Infectious Disease News.

According to the CDC, over 90% of these cancers could be prevented through vaccination.

“If we could vaccinate all eligible folks, we could eliminate these cancers and HPV-related diseases, reducing suffering and costs,” Paskett said, “If we can get to herd immunity with at least 80% vaccination rates, then we can eliminate cervical cancer, genital warts, and maybe several other cancers.”

In conjunction with International HPV Awareness Day, Infectious Disease News compiled a list of 10 recently published stories focused on HPV. – by Marley Ghizzone

Study: 78% of women complied with mail-based HPV self-testing program

Almost 80% of women returned HPV self-testing kits in the mail during a pilot study conducted in the Appalachian region of Ohio — an indication that at-home HPV testing can be used to reach underscreened women, researchers reported in Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Read more.

14 million additional adolescents needed to reach HPV vaccination goal

HPV vaccination rates among adolescents must increase substantially for the American Cancer Society to achieve its goal of 80% prevalence by 2026, according to study results published in Cancer. Read more.

In-office video intervention improves HPV vaccine uptake

Showing an informational video on a digital tablet to parents of teenagers who were unvaccinated against HPV resulted in a threefold increase in their child’s likelihood of vaccination within 2 weeks, according to research published in Pediatrics. Read more.

Hand-to-genital contact unlikely to cause HPV transmission

HPV transmission is unlikely to occur from hand-to-genital contact, and most infections are caused by genital-to-genital sexual transmission, according to a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Read more.

Data show 'clear evidence' of HPV vaccine impact on cervical precancer

The proportion of cervical precancers positive for HPV types 16 and 18 declined significantly between 2008 and 2014, particularly among vaccinated women, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Read more.

Only 16% of teens complete HPV vaccine series by age 13 years

A recent analysis of data from the National Immunization Survey-Teen found that only 16% of U.S. adolescents completed HPV vaccination before the age of 13 years and only 35% before turning 15 years of age. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends vaccination in children aged 11 to 12 years. Read more.

Expanded HPV vaccination could significantly impact public health

“Exposure to HPV does not stop at age 26 years,” Alain Luxembourg, MD, PhD, director of clinical research at Merck, told Infectious Disease News. “We now have a significant amount of epidemiological and real-world data that show adults older than age 26 years are exposed to HPV and are susceptible to infection. We have a population that is at risk and is not protected.” Read more.

Women with HPV without cellular abnormalities at increased risk for cervical cancer

Women positive for HPV16 or HPV18 but who do not have any cellular abnormalities remain at an increased risk for cervical cancer and its precursor lesions, according to results of a nested case-control study published in Cancer. Read more.

Q&A: HPV vaccine coverage lacking among rural teens

Robin C. Vanderpool, DrPH, associate professor in the department of health, behavior and society at the University of Kentucky College of Public Health and the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center, speaks about some of the barriers to HPV vaccination among rural teenagers and what is needed to prevent future infections. Read more.

Personal touch critical for mobile phone-based HPV awareness strategy

Although college-aged adults were hesitant to learn about HPV and HPV vaccination via text messages and mobile apps, they expressed more willingness if personalized options were sent from a health care provider, according to findings from a qualitative study published in the Journal of Adolescent and Family Health. Read more.

Disclosure: Paskett reports serving as the multiple principal investigator on a current study funded by the Merck Foundation.