Public health authorities' information on human papillomavirus and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: a cross-sectional study in high-income countries

Abstract

Background and aims: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main cause of the rapidly increasing incidence of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPC) in high-income countries, particularly in men. Studies have shown a lower awareness of HPV-associated cancers, particularly OPC, in men. This study assessed the information provided by health authorities on HPV-induced OPC in multiple high-income countries.

Materials and methods: A standardized search for HPV information was conducted on health authority websites. Webpages were categorized as high, moderate-to-low or no awareness according to the extent of patient information that was provided on the link between HPV and OPC.

Results: Seven health authorities demonstrated high awareness of the link between HPV and the development of OPC, 24 showed moderate-to-low awareness, and three exhibited no awareness. In European Medicines Agency Member countries, only 17.4% of the population had access to the high awareness content through their public health bodies.

Conclusion and significance: Only seven out of the 39 health authorities analyzed provided high awareness content on the link between HPV and OPC. This demonstrates the general lack of public awareness of this important link, suggesting public health bodies currently fail to prioritize this matter and do not provide relevant information to the public.

Keywords: HPV; Human papillomavirus; OPC; OPSCC; oropharyngeal cancer; public health authorities.