The St. Jude Children's Research Hospital HPV Cancer Prevention Program recently launched a public awareness campaign to bring more attention to the need for and benefits of adolescents ages 9-12 receiving on-time human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to prevent cancer. The campaign will also elevate awareness of the dangers of HPV pre-cancers and cancers.
The “Path to a Bright Future” campaign was unveiled during the final segment of a weeklong seminar series featuring medical and public health experts, along with HPV-cancer survivors and parents, discussing challenges around HPV vaccination and possible solutions. Path to a Bright Future, which will include fact sheets, infographics, posters, and social assets available to partners nationwide, will kickoff in the southeastern United States where HPV vaccination coverage remains well below national averages.
HPV can cause six dangerous types of cancer (including oral, cervical, vaginal, anal and penile cancers) in both women and men and results in more than 36,000 cases of cancer each year. HPV vaccination, which is effective at preventing more than 90 percent of these types of cancers, is available and recommended for every person between the ages of 9 and 26. The ideal age is 9 – 12 years old.
Despite widespread availability and the effectiveness, HPV vaccination coverage in the United States has been slow and remains lower than the national Healthy People 2030 goal of 80%. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 80 million Americans – one out of every four people – are infected with the virus.
You can learn more in this interview.
- Why is the HPV vaccine important?
I like to take a step back and ask one question of parents and caregivers who make health care decisions for their children.
What if you could do something today to prevent your child from developing cancer in the future?
I feel fairly certain that every single parent and caregiver would respond with a resounding affirmation of wanting to do everything possible to protect their children today from what may happen in the future. This is why HPV vaccination is so important. HPV vaccination today is cancer prevention for the future.
HPV is an extremely common virus that affects everyone – both women and men – and can cause six types of cancer, including cervical, vaginal, vulvar, anal, penile, and oral/throat cancers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 80 million Americans – one out of every four people – are infected with the virus.
I like to focus on two numbers – 36,000 and 90% - when talking about why HPV vaccination matters.
36k+
More than 36,000 cancer diagnoses and 200,000 pre-cancers of the cervix each year in the United States, and 630,000 HPV cancer diagnoses globally, can be prevented by HPV vaccination.
90%
HPV (human papillomavirus) is an extremely common virus that can cause six forms of cancer in adults – including cervical, vaginal, vulvar, anal, penile, and oral/throat cancers – but HPV vaccination has been proven to prevent 90% of these cancers.
Good news! There is something you can do today to prevent your child from developing cancer in the future. HPV vaccination is recommended for 9-12 year old children to complete all doses by the 13th birthday.
- What factors lead contribute to lower HPV vaccine rates?
Experts began recommending HPV vaccination in 2006, representing a major milestone on the path to preventing cancer. To date, more than 270 million doses have been administered worldwide. Not enough people get this cancer prevention vaccination as uptake remains much lower than other recommended vaccinations for this same age group in the United States. In 2020, 6 out of 10 of children aged 13-to17-years old in the United States had been vaccinated for HPV. This means a lot of children are missing out on cancer prevention in the future. States that rank low for vaccination rates are clustered in the American southeast and mountain west. We want to work to change this and make sure all children are protected.
There are several factors that lead to differences in HPV vaccination uptake. I will focus on three that seem to be among the most common.
- Misinformation: We know parents and caregivers want information they can use and trust when it comes to making decisions about their children’s healthcare. HPV vaccination, unfortunately, has been portrayed inaccurately. HPV vaccination is very safe. It works really well to prevent HPV cancers and cancers. It provides long-lasting protection when given by the 13th birthday.
- Safety concerns: HPV vaccination is very safe. Like for any vaccine, there may be some mild side effects. This means there may be pain, swelling, or redness where the shot was given. This is normal and usually goes away in a couple of days.
- Connection to sexual activity: Some parents and caregivers report hesitancy to vaccinate children against HPV (or even to discuss HPV) out of concern that doing so will lead to sexual behavior, despite many studies to the contrary.
The CDC has a great online resource to answer commonly asked questions from parents.
- How do you respond to common objections against the vaccine?
I emphasize HPV vaccination is a tool for cancer prevention. It offers protection today for a lifetime against HPV cancers. HPV vaccination is safe and works really well to prevent HPV cancers and pre-cancers. One parent of three children recently said to me, “Aren’t we as parents really lucky? We can act today to protect our children against these types of cancer.” This resonates with me because I think of HPV vaccination as a choice being made today by a parent or caregiver to protect their child from cancer in the future.
Lastly, I believe everyone can play a role in preventing HPV cancers.
- Get vaccinated against HPV: If you are or your child is in the recommended age range, get vaccinated.
- Encourage others to get vaccinated: Normalize HPV vaccination as a tool for cancer prevention.
- Share the facts: HPV vaccination is safe, effective, and durable. It prevents six types of cancer.
Want to learn more? Go to stjude.org/hpv.
Learn more about Path to a Bright Future or sign up to be a campaign partner here. Additional information about the St. Jude HPV Cancer Prevention Program is available here.
The St. Jude HPV Cancer Prevention Program launched in March 2021 with a $12 million investment to focus on the prevention of HPV-related cancers around the world. For more information, please visit StJude.org/HPV or email PreventHPV@stjude.org.
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