Urgency for action to prevent cancer: Recommendations from the President's Cancer Panel to accelerate HPV vaccine uptake

One in four people in the United States—nearly 80 million—are infected with at least one type of human papillomavirus (HPV), a group of viruses linked to multiple cancers and other diseases. Today, we have two safe and effective vaccines that prevent infection by the two most prevalent cancer-causing HPV types. However, in 2012, only 33 percent of adolescent females and less than 7 percent of males across the U.S. had completed the three-dose series. These low vaccination rates reveal countless missed opportunities to prevent cancers and other serious diseases. 

HPV vaccines prevent cancer, so why are HPV vaccination rates as low as 12 percent in some regions of the country? 

During 2012-2013, the President's Cancer Panel explored underuse of HPV vaccines and ways to accelerate vaccine uptake and protect today's children as well as future generations against cancers caused by HPV. The Panel sought the input of diverse stakeholders, including government and nongovernmental organization leaders, researchers, healthcare providers, public health professionals, advocates, and health communication experts. It also heard compelling testimony from survivors who have lived with the physical, emotional, and financial burdens of cancers caused by HPV. Through four workshops, the Panel identified barriers to HPV vaccine uptake and discussed steps to overcome them

The resulting report details three concrete goals and supporting objectives to increase HPV vaccine uptake in the United States, regionally and nationally.