The number of cases of oropharyngeal cancer due to HP is increasing. The HPV vaccine significantly reduces the risk of this. But the relationship between the virus and oropharyngeal cancer is not known to the Dutch.
About 10 percent of Dutch people surveyed know that HPV can cause oropharyngeal cancer. This is evidenced by doctoral research conducted by otolaryngologist Femke Verhes at Maastricht University UMC+. A quarter of general practitioners in the Netherlands do not know that HPV can cause throat cancer.
“Vaccinations provide good protection against the virus and cancer associated with HPV,” Verhes said in a statement. “But if parents are not aware of HPV or the consequences of infection, they may be less likely to vaccinate their children.”
According to figures from the Dutch Comprehensive Cancer Center, the number of cases of oropharyngeal cancer has doubled in recent years. Smoking and alcohol are known risk factors, but in recent years HPV is more often the culprit.
HP can also cause other types of cancer
The HP virus is transmitted through sexual contact. It can give you cervical cancer. But the virus can also cause other types of cancer, such as oropharyngeal cancer.
In the early 1990s, only a small percentage of oropharyngeal cancer cases were caused by HPV infection. Now this probably applies to about half of the cases.
Although treatment has improved, oropharyngeal cancer remains a deadly disease.
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