Number of Women Diagnosed with HPV-Related Cancers on the Rise
LatestAccording to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of cancers associated with HPV (human papillomavirus) has increased in the United States. The agency estimates that each year, between 2008-2012, an average of nearly 39,000 HPV-related cancers were diagnosed. That number is higher than the CDC’s previous estimates covering 2004 to 2008, during which an estimated 33,000 were diagnosed every year.
The majority of the diagnosed cases were women—nearly 59 percent, or roughly 23,000 cases yearly—who were overwhelming diagnosed with cervical cancer. The majority of men were diagnosed with HPV-related oral cancer. Most notable about the study is that most of the new cancers tracked from 2008-2012 are related to HPV types that are covered by vaccines. The study’s authors note that increasing vaccination would (quite obviously) lead the decrease in HPV-related cancers.