How Can Dental Practitioners Join the Fight Against HPV-Associated Oropharyngeal Cancer?
Source: Aegis Dental Network Date: February 2020, Volume 41, Issue 2 Authors: Jack Dillenberg, DDS, MPH; A. Ross Kerr, DDS, MSD; Alexis Koskan, PhD; Seena Patel, DMD, MPH; Mai-Ly Duong, DMD, MPH, MAEdAeg Dr. Dillenberg The entire dental team has the responsibility of impacting the overall health of their patients. This becomes even more relevant with the realization that up to 27 million people each year visit a dentist and not a physician, thus providing a special opportunity for primary care issues to be addressed in the dental setting. One such opportunity is oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) prevention and control. An estimated 51,540 new cases of oral and pharyngeal cancer occurred in 2019, with a 5-year relative survival rate of 65%.1 Of these, it is estimated that 19,000 are human papilloma virus (HPV)-associated OPC, which is the only cancer that has increased in prevalence in the past 5 years, and that these numbers will continue to rise.1 Whereas the use of alcohol and tobacco were once the leading causes of OPC, the emergence of HPV infection as the main cause of OPC has changed everything. Infection with HPV (particularly HPV type 16) is transmitted primarily through sexual contact and is a vaccine-preventable virus. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease and can be spread even when someone infected with this virus has no signs or symptoms. Therefore, the dental team should be aware of this serious emerging cancer, be able to educate patients about risk factors, and engage in preventive [...]