Human papillomavirus vaccination for young survivors of cancer

Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine can prevent six types of cancers and has a strong safety profile. However, only 55% of US adolescents (ie, aged 13–15 years) are up to date on HPV vaccination.1 This proportion is well below the Healthy People 2030 goal of 80% and coverage for other adolescent vaccines of almost 90%.1 HPV vaccination rates also decreased notably during the COVID-19 pandemic, a problem that was probably amplified for survivors of cancer. Low uptake of HPV vaccine is an especially pressing problem for adolescent and young adult (AYA) survivors of cancer, whose risk of a new cancer diagnosis is 3–10 times higher than the general population.