Source: The ASCO Post Posted: 1/11/2017 The 69 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers have issued a joint statement in support of recently revised recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to improve national vaccination rates for human papillomavirus (HPV). According to the CDC, incidence rates of HPV-associated cancers have continued to rise, with approximately 39,000 new HPV-associated cancers now diagnosed each year in the United States. Although HPV vaccines can prevent the majority of cervical, anal, oropharyngeal, and other genital cancers, vaccination rates remain low across the United States, with just 41.9% of girls and 28.1% of boys completing the recommended vaccine series. New Recommendations The new guidelines from the CDC recommend that children under age 15 should receive 2 doses of the 9-valent HPV vaccine at least 6 months apart. Adolescents and young adults older than 14 should continue to complete the 3-dose 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 an effort to overcome these barriers, NCI-designated cancer centers have organized a continuing series of national summits to share new research, discuss best practices, and identify collective action toward improving vaccination rates. The original joint statement, published in January 2016, was the major recommendation from a summit hosted at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer in November 2015, which brought together experts from the [...]