HPV Vaccination Cuts Head and Neck Cancer Rates by 56% as U.S. Cases Keep Rising

3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · May 18

A U.S. study of more than 1.7 million people found HPV vaccination from 2010 to 2023 cut head and neck cancer rates by 56% in men and 33% in women.
HPV is now the leading risk factor behind the recent rise in oral cavity and pharynx cancers, accounting for about 30% of oropharyngeal cancers worldwide.
U.S. oral cavity and pharynx cancer incidence reached 11.6 cases per 100,000 people in 2023, up from 10 in 2007, or roughly 60,000 new diagnoses a year.
Vaccination is recommended in two doses at ages 11 or 12, with catch-up through age 26; another analysis found it reduced high-risk oral HPV infections by 46%.
Smoking and heavy alcohol use still raise risk sharply, but quitting helps: stopping smoking for 20 years was linked to more than a 75% lower risk.

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