HPV cancer rate highest in West Virginia

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ATLANTA, April 20 (UPI) -- Human papillomavirus-associated cancers among females range from 8.5 per 100,000 in Utah to 16.3 per 100,000 in West Virginia, federal health officials said.

A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report said human papillomavirus-associated cancers among males range from 4.9 per 100,000 in Utah to 11.6 per 100,000 in the District of Columbia.

Oncogenic human papillomavirus has a causal role in nearly all cervical cancers and in many vulvar, vaginal, penile, anal, and oropharyngeal cancers, CDC officials said.

Most human papillomavirus infections clear within one to two years, but those that persist can progress to pre-cancer or cancer. In the United States, public health prevention of cervical cancer includes both secondary prevention through cervical cancer screening and primary prevention via vaccination, CDC officials said.

Transmission of human papillomavirus can be reduced through condom use and limiting the number of sexual partners, the report said. Two vaccines -- bivalent and quadrivalent -- are available to protect against human papillomavirus types 16 and 18, which are responsible for 70 percent of cervical cancers, the CDC said.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice recommends routine vaccination of females ages 11-12 with three doses of either vaccine and routine vaccination of males age 11 or 12 years with three doses of quadrivalent vaccine.