New HPV Vaccine Research Shows Dramatic Reduction in Cancer Risk, Especially in Men

Researchers have known for years that the HPV vaccine — originally approved to prevent infection with the human papillomavirus, which is linked to almost all cervical cancers in women — may also protect against oral HPV infection, the leading cause of oropharyngeal cancer in both women and men.

Now, research shows that the HPV vaccine dramatically reduces the risk of HPV-related oropharyngeal head and neck cancers—especially in boys and men.

“We have known that the HPV vaccine reduces rates of oral HPV infection, but this study shows that for boys and men in particular, vaccination decreases the risk of HPV-related oropharyngeal head and neck cancers,” says Glenn J. Hanna, MD, director of the Center for Cancer Therapeutic Innovation and a physician in the Center for Head and Neck Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, who was not involved with the research. “HPV vaccination is cancer prevention,” he says.

Indeed, according to the authors of the recent study results, presented on June 1 at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, the study hammers home the point that young men should also receive the vaccine that was originally approved for use in young women.

“We want males to be thinking about HPV vaccination not just as something that protects females, but that also protects them,” says Jefferson DeKloe, a research fellow with the department of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and coauthor of the report.

HPV Vaccine Benefits and Approved Uses

The HPV vaccine was originally approved in the United States in 2006 for girls and women between ages 9 and 26 to prevent infection with the human papillomavirus, high-risk strains of which are linked with 99 percent of cervical cancers.

Since then, the vaccine’s demonstrated benefits and approved uses have expanded: In 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the HPV vaccine for boys and men between ages 9 and 26 to prevent genital warts.

In a study published in 2018, researchers determined that the likelihood of being diagnosed with oral HPV infection — a leading risk factor for oropharyngeal cancer, a type of head and neck cancer — was 88 percent lower among those who had received at least one dose of HPV vaccine compared with those who had not been vaccinated at all. However, because that study wasn’t large and relatively few people — especially males — were receiving the vaccine during the years the survey took place, it was difficult to demonstrate robust results across a large group of people.

The latest research establishes the vaccine’s benefits in stark relief: Of the 3,413,077 males and females between ages 9 and 39 studied, the HPV vaccine slashed rates of HPV-related head and neck cancers by 56 percent in males. In females, by 33 percent.

“This is an exciting study that builds a foundation of evidence for the benefits of gender-neutral vaccination against oropharyngeal head and neck cancer,” says Mary Jue Xu, MD, a head and neck oncology and microvascular surgeon at the University of California in San Francisco and the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. The incidence of HPV-related head and neck cancers now exceeds that of HPV-related cervical cancer in the United States, says Dr. Xu.

Indeed, the incidence of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer has been rising in the United States over the last few decades. According to the National Cancer Institute, about 70 percent of oropharyngeal cancers are caused by infection with high-risk types or strains of human papillomavirus.

HPV Vaccine Recommendations

The HPV vaccine continues to deliver on its original purpose: Reduction of cervical cancer. A study of nearly 1.7 million women found that the HPV vaccine reduced cervical cancer incidence by nearly 90 percent among those vaccinated before age 17.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reflect similarly the vaccine’s benefit, especially when administered at a younger age: HPV infections responsible for the majority of HPV-related cancers and genital warts have decreased by 88 percent among adolescent girls and by 81 percent among young adult women.

A review published in 2023 further demonstrates the benefit of vaccination at a younger age. Researchers at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, found the vaccine was 74 to 93 percent effective in reducing HPV infections, anogenital warts, cervical abnormalities, and cervical cancer in young people between ages 9 and 14, while it was 12 to 90 percent effective among people ages 15 to 18.

The CDC recommends that girls and boys receive the HPV vaccine at age 11 or 12, although it can be started at age 9. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) also recommends vaccination for everyone through age 26 if they were not vaccinated when younger. The HPV vaccine, which works best before any exposure to human papillomavirus, prevents new infections but doesn’t treat existing infections or HPV-related disease.

HPV is spread through direct sexual contact. In addition to cervical and oropharyngeal cancers, HPV is also linked to other cancers, including penile, anal, vaginal cancers, as well as to genital warts.