Nearly 80 million Americans鈥1 out of every 4 people鈥攁re infected with human papillomavirus (HPV). And of those millions, more than 31,000 will be diagnosed with an HPV-related cancer this year. Despite those staggering figures and the availability of a vaccine to prevent the infections that cause these cancers, HPV vaccination remains low in the United States.
嘿嘿视频鈥檚 Perlmutter Cancer Center has partnered with 69 other 鈥揹esignated cancer centers to issue a statement urging increased HPV vaccination and screening to eliminate HPV-related cancers, starting with cervical cancer. These institutions collectively recognize insufficient vaccination as a public health threat, and call upon the nation鈥檚 physicians, parents, and young adults to take advantage of this rare opportunity to eliminate several different types of cancer in men and women.
鈥淲e have the opportunity to eliminate multiple HPV-related cancers, beginning with cervical cancer. To accomplish this goal, we need to utilize our most important tool鈥擧PV vaccination,鈥 says Anna R. Giuliano, PhD, director of the Center for Infection Research in Cancer at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. 鈥淲e are asking healthcare providers to stand with us and recommend the HPV vaccine. Parents can join with us by asking their doctors about vaccination.鈥
鈥淗PV-induced cancers are a major public health threat鈥攐ne that is almost totally preventable. Unfortunately, current vaccination rates are unacceptably low,鈥 says , director of Perlmutter Cancer Center. 鈥淎t a time when overall cancer rates are escalating, we have a tool in place to prevent infection with the cancer-causing strains of HPV, which cause all cervical cancers and are a major鈥攁nd increasing鈥攃ause of head and neck cancer. It is disappointing that more individuals are not taking advantage of this vaccine.鈥
Vaccination rates remain significantly lower than other recommended adolescent vaccines in the U.S. According 2016 data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), less than 50 percent of girls and 38 percent of boys completed the recommended vaccine series. Research shows there are a number of barriers to overcome to improve vaccination rates, including a lack of strong recommendations from physicians and parents not understanding that this vaccine protects against several types of cancer in men and women. HPV causes multiple cancers including cervical, anal, oropharyngeal (middle throat), and other genital cancers.
鈥淐ervical cancer is preventable and the HPV vaccine鈥攁 major tool we have to prevent it鈥攊s tragically underused,鈥 says Ophira M. Ginsburg, MD, associate professor in the departments of and , and director of the High Risk Cancer Genetics Program at Perlmutter Cancer Center. 鈥淕irls and boys should be vaccinated against HPV to prevent HPV-related cancers. Use of these vaccines, coupled with recommended cervical cancer screening, would eliminate most cervical cancer.鈥
HPV experts from the nation鈥檚 top cancer centers, along with partners from the NCI, CDC, and the American Cancer Society, are meeting June 7 and 8 in Salt Lake City to discuss a path forward to eliminating cancers caused by HPV, including ways to reduce barriers to vaccination, as well as share education, training, and intervention strategies to improve vaccination rates.
鈥淭he United States has an unprecedented opportunity to not just prevent cancers caused by HPV, but to eliminate them. This means getting to a point in time when cancers such as cervical cancer are no longer diagnosed in our country,鈥 says Dr. Giuliano.
This is the third year that all NCI-designated cancer centers have come together to issue a national call to action. All 70 cancer centers unanimously share the goal of sending a powerful message to parents, adolescents, and healthcare providers about the importance of HPV vaccination for the elimination of HPV-related cancers.
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