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HPV-Related Cancers Can Be Stopped—but Only If We Grow Up About Teenage Sexuality

It feels tempting to declare a public health victory. But while we have the tools to combat HPV and related illnesses (which also can include genital warts), the incidence of HPV-associated cancers is actually on the rise. Of the 14 million new cases of HPV that occur every year, most clear up without incident; but experts estimate that 27,000 lead to cancer, usually occurring in adults older than age 40. Vaccination is of no use to that cohort, but unfortunately, we’re not doing enough to forestall the trend in younger generations.

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Featured

 HPV - The Cancer Virus

In the early 1970's, HPV received a great deal of media attention when Harald zur Hausen first postulated its ability to cause the second most common cancer in women...cervical cancer. Now, who gets the HPV vaccine has become the overriding issue, especially if its your kid!

 HPV Is Incredibly Common—But Most People Still Don’t Know It Can Cause Various Cancers

The vaccine, which is recommended for all young people, can prevent most types associated with the STI.

 What to Know About the HPV Vaccine and Cancer Prevention

New research shows many eligible people are not getting the shots.

Articles of Interest

Americans should be more afraid of HPV

HPV-related oral and genital cancers are on the rise — yet we're under-using the vaccine that can prevent them.

Cancer vaccines are showing promise. Here’s how they work.

A few vaccines are preventative as they teach the body to kill a cancer-causing viruses like hepatitis B and human papillomavirus, thus averting an infection that could otherwise lead to a tumor.

Cervical cancer could soon be a disease of the past

Researchers think the disease could be eliminated in the U.S. within a few decades.

Cornering A Killer

Chemotherapy, radiation, surgery--oncologists try everything to treat cervical cancer. Yet of the 470,000 women who contract the disease worldwide each year (15,000 in the U.S.), half die within five years. This cancer kills 200,000 women annually (5,000 in the U.S.), one of the biggest cancer killers of women in the world. Yet virtually all the cases were avoidable, even preventable: The cancer is caused by a sexually transmitted disease known as HPV (human papillomavirus). Insidious and prodigious, HPV is the fastest-spreading STD.

Finally, a Selfish Reason To Get Boys Vaccinated for HPV

A vaccine that prevents cancer is the dream of just about every patient, doctor, and public health official. Therefore, hopes were quite high five years ago, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a vaccine to prevent human papillomavirus, or HPV, a sexually transmitted virus that causes almost all cases of cervical cancer. But despite its clear efficacy, the vaccine has been something of a dud.

HPV vaccine helps prevent invasive cervical cancer, landmark study shows

Research is first to show vaccination helps protect against more than just pre-cancerous changes.

HPV Vaccines Are Reducing Infections, Warts — and Probably Cancer

An analysis covering 66 million young people has found plummeting rates of precancerous lesions and genital warts after vaccination against the human papillomavirus.

Human Papillomavirus Infection And Cancer Risk

A new report in the journal Lancet says about half the men in the U.S., Brazil and Mexico are infected with HPV, a group of viruses that includes some known to cause cancer and other diseases.

Most people don’t know the true dangers of HPV

We have a vaccine that prevents cancer—but not enough people are using it.

Oral Rinses Used For Tracking HPV-Positive Head And Neck Cancers Holds Promise For Cancer Screening

A study published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, validates a non-invasive screening method with future potential for detection of human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive head and neck cancers.

Oral Sex and the Alarming Rise of HPV-Related Throat Cancer in Men

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the US—there are more than 100 types, though not all cause health problems. But today, more and more people, predominantly men, are being diagnosed with oral HPV-related cancer.

STDs...The Latest is...Head and Neck Cancer

The incidence of head and neck cancer is going down. The bad news is another type of head and neck cancer is on the rise and is related to a common STD...HPV the same virus implicated in cervical cancer. Could oral sex play a role?

The end of cervical cancer? It might be within reach.

Emerging evidence suggests that just one dose of the HPV vaccine is as effective as two or three—and that has huge implications for the battle against cervical cancer.

The HPV Vaccine Prevents Cancer, but Most Kids Don’t Receive It

The human papillomavirus vaccine can prevent six potentially lethal malignancies, but inoculation is meeting with rising resistance from parents.

U.K. Study Finds HPV Vaccine Reduced Cervical Cancer Rates by 87%

When children are inoculated between 12 and 13 years old, the vaccine is most effective.

Resources

5 Things You Might Not Know About HPV and Cervical Cancer (but Should)

The FDA approved the vaccine for (nonpregnant) women under the age of 26. The vaccine doesn't protect against all HPV strains but has been shown to be almost 100 percent effective in preventing cervical cancer caused by the high-risk strains.

HPVandMe

Our mission is to provide education about HPV infection, the HPV vaccine, and HPV-related cancers, specifically HPV-related oropharyngeal or head and neck cancers—now the #1 HPV cancer, surpassing cervical cancer.

CDC

An HPV-associated cancer is a specific cellular type of cancer that is diagnosed in a part of the body where HPV is often found. These parts of the body include the cervix, vagina, vulva, penis, anus, rectum, and oropharynx (back of the throat, including the base of the tongue and tonsils). These cellular types include carcinomas of the cervix and squamous cell carcinomas of the vagina, vulva, penis, anus, rectum, and oropharynx.

National Cancer Institute

HPV can cause six types of cancer: These include anal cancer, cervical cancer, oropharyngeal cancer, penile cancer, vaginal cancer, and vulvar cancer.