Most patients are unaware of the relationship between human papillomavirus (HPV) and throat cancer, a study says.
According to new findings from Boston Medical Centre, only 23.3% of U.S patients understood the relationship between HPV infection and throat cancer. In addition, just 7.4% said they knew that throat cancer is the most common HPV-associated cancer type.
Published in JAMA Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, most respondents said their doctors had never told them that the HPV vaccine protects against throat cancer.
Most healthcare practitioners discuss the vaccine solely in the context of cervical cancer, according to the research. The study team suggest that HPV vaccination rates could be increased by counselling both men and women about the link between HPV and throat cancer, rather than only focusing on the cervical cancer connection.
Lack of knowledge
However, the team report that healthcare providers ‘may not feel comfortable or well informed enough to discuss the relationship between HPV and OPSCC (oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma)’.
They added: ‘Healthcare practitioners, who typically recommend vaccines, do not routinely talk to their patients about the relationship between HPV and OPSCC in part due to lack of knowledge and comfort surrounding the topic.’
Findings showed that women were more likely than men to be vaccinated, more aware that HPV causes cancer, and more likely to have heard about HPV and HPV vaccination from their healthcare provider.
‘This may be partially due to the efforts by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, whose guidelines recommend that all patients receiving care are offered the HPV vaccine,’ said study author Daniel Faden and his co-authors.
Necessity of interventions
University-level education increased the odds of knowing that HPV causes cancer in general and throat cancer specifically.
The team concluded: ‘Our findings, supported by other research, point to the necessity of interventions that illustrate to adults how HPV vaccines can protect against developing cancer, especially OPSCC.
‘Doing so may palliate the vaccination gap between genders and increase overall coverage.’
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