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Ongoing surveillance needed to monitor trends in HPV rates after vaccination
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The ongoing monitoring of HPV-associated cancers via the National Program of Cancer Registries and the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results program indicate a decrease in the US rates for cervical cancer, yet disparities remain, according to data published in a recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Data pooled from the high-quality population-based cancer registry programs indicated that between 2004 and 2008, there were 12,080 HPV-associated cancers diagnosed annually among males and 21,290 among females.
Of the overall cases, cervical cancer was the most common diagnosis (11,967 annually), followed by oropharyngeal cancer (11,726 annually). Compared with whites and non-Hispanics, blacks and Hispanics had the highest rates for cervical and penile cancer. Conversely, vulvar cancer rates were highest among whites and non-Hispanics.
Anal cancer rates were highest among females (1.8 per 100,000) vs. males (1.2 per 100,000). Specifically, the rates were highest among white females and among black males.
HPV-associated cancer rates were highest among females in West Virginia (16.3 per 100,000) and among males in Washington, D.C. (11.6 per 100,000). Rates in the lowest tertile for HPV-associated cancers were most common in Maryland, Colorado and Utah, whereas rates in the highest tertile were found in Kentucky, Louisiana and Tennessee.
“The HPV vaccine will likely help decrease cervical cancer rates further and reduce the disparities,” the researchers wrote in the report. “Other HPV-associated cancers do not have approved screening programs; therefore, HPV vaccines are important prevention tools to reduce the incidence of non-cervical cancers.”
In an accompanying editorial, CDC officials wrote, “Reasons for variations in rates of noncervical HPV-associated cancers by race/ethnicity and state are not clear but might be attributable, in part, to demographics, screening practices, tobacco use or other factors related to HPV infection of persistence.”
Disclosures: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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