HPV-related cancer rates outpace vaccinations
Source: www.ctpost.com Author: Cara Rosner, Conn. Health Cancers linked to the human papillomavirus, commonly called HPV, rose dramatically in a 15-year period, even as the rates of young people being vaccinated climbed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. The 43,371 new cases of HPV-associated cancers reported nationwide in 2015 marked a 44 percent jump from the 30,115 cases reported in 1999, according to a CDC analysis. HPV vaccination rates have improved over the years, but not fast enough to stem the rise in cancers, the CDC said. Oropharyngeal, or throat, cancer was the most common HPV-associated cancer in 2015, accounting for 15,479 cases among males and 3,438 among females. HPV infects about 14 million people each year. Between 1999 and 2015 rates of throat and vulvar cancer increased, vaginal and cervical cancer rates declined, and penile cancer rates were stable, according to the CDC. “The (overall rise) seems to be mostly driven by oropharyngeal cancers,” said Dr. Sangini Sheth, assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at Yale School of Medicine. “Vaccination is key to preventing those cancers,” said Sheth, who also is an associate medical director and director of colposcopy and cervical dysplasia at Yale New Haven Hospital’s Women’s Center. “Oropharyngeal cancer is most common in men, and HPV vaccination rates, while they are rising in the U.S. and Connecticut, became routine for boys later (than girls). And the rate of vaccinations among boys has definitely lagged that of girls. Hopefully, we will see vaccinating our [...]