Gender neutral vaccination against HPV

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common sexually transmitted virus and the cause of nearly all cervical cancers. In 2008, the UK governments implemented a school based HPV vaccination programme for 12-13 year old girls. This has already substantially decreased HPV prevalence in target populations.1 When HPV vaccination was introduced, the focus was understandably on preventing cervical cancer. This facilitated a very clear and effective public health message, and in recent years vaccine uptake in the UK has remained consistently high (over 80%).2

Over the past decade, however, awareness of the burden of HPV attributable cancers in men has increased. Oropharyngeal cancers, primarily cancers of the tonsils and tongue base, have become more common across the developed world. In the UK, between 2002 and 2011, incidence of oropharyngeal cancers increased by 101%, with three quarters of cases occurring in men, and more than half being caused by HPV.3 In England in 2016, there were 8.9 oropharyngeal cancers per 100 000 men, compared with …