- Government figures show a dramatic rise in HPV-related cancer diagnoses
- There were 39,000 a year in 2008-2012, up from 33,500 a year in 2002-2007
- Experts warn these cancers could have been prevented with a vaccine
- But they fear misunderstanding about the jab means many aren’t getting it
- HPV is the most common sexually-transmitted infection
Mia De Graaf For Dailymail.com
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Forty thousand people are diagnosed with preventable HPV-related cancers every year, a US government report reveals.
The majority of cases (80 per cent) could be avoided with a vaccine.
However, experts warn a misunderstanding about the HPV jab means thousands of people are neglecting to get immunized.
And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that confusion has led to rocketing numbers of cancers caused by human papilloma virus (HPV).
Experts warn a misunderstanding about the HPV jab means thousands of people are neglecting to get immunized. They say people think it is to prevent a harmless STI. In fact, it protects against cancer
HPV is the most common sexually-transmitted infection.
While it can be harmless in some people, research has shown direct links between the disease and cancers of the throat, mouth and cervix.
Reflecting on the report, experts say it seems many people think the HPV vaccine is to prevent a harmless STI. In fact, it also protects against cancer.
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‘In order to increase HPV vaccination rates, we must change the perception of the HPV vaccine from something that prevents a sexually transmitted disease to a vaccine that prevents cancer,’ Electra Paskett, co-director of the Cancer Control Research Program at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer, said.
She says there is clear evidence to show that increasing the number of vaccinations would dramatically reduce cancer rates – both in the US and across the globe.
WHAT IS HUMAN PAPILLOMA VIRUS?
HPV is the most common sexually-transmitted infection.
In fact, almost every sexually active man or woman will get it during their lifetime.
It is spread through sex and oral sex with someone who has the virus, regardless of whether they show symptoms.
Many people never show symptoms, and the majority of cases go away without treatment.
However, it can sometimes cause genital warts and/or cancer.
Symptoms can arise years after infection.
Around 99 per cent of cervical cancer diagnoses are related to infections like HPV.
HPV can also cause cancers of the throat, neck, tongue, tonsils, vulva, vagina, penis or anus.
Often, the cancer does not develop until years after a patient was infected with HPV.
Source: CDC
‘Every parent should ask the question: If there was a vaccine I could give my child that would prevent them from developing six different cancers, would I give it to them?
‘The answer would be a resounding yes – and we would have a dramatic decrease in HPV-related cancers across the globe.’
The latest figures showed a dramatic climb in diagnoses.
An average of 39,000 cases were diagnosed each year between 2008 and 2012, the CDC reported.
That was a leap from 33,500 a year between 2002 and 2007.
Almost 80 per cent of cases in the last five years were directly attributable to HPV, including 19,200 diagnoses for female and 11,600 for males.
The most common HPV-related diagnoses in women were cervical cancers.
For men, mouth and throat cancers were the most common.
The CDC estimates that more than 28,000 of these diagnoses could have been blocked by the HPV jab.
The study, published in the Morbidity And Mortality Weekly Report on Friday, was based on figures from the national cancer registry.
‘Full vaccination coverage of the U.S. population could prevent future HPV-attributable cancers and potentially reduce racial and ethnic disparities in HPV-associated cancer incidence,’ the authors wrote.
‘Ongoing surveillance for HPV-associated cancers using high-quality population-based registries is needed to monitor trends in cancer incidence that might result from increasing use of HPV vaccines and changes in cervical cancer screening practices.’
HPV (pictured) is the most common sexually-transmitted infection. While it can be harmless in some people, research has shown direct links between the disease and cancers of the throat, mouth and cervix
The US government recommends that boys and girls get their first HPV jab at the age of 11 before they are exposed to the infection by having sex.
It consists of three shots spread over six months.
Catch-up jabs are then available for men up to the age of 21 and for women up to the age of 26.
In the UK, the vaccine is only offered to girls – a source of controversy since the infection is not gender specific.
The jab consists of two injections in the upper arm spread over six months.
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