(Press-News.org) COLUMBUS, Ohio – While the human papillomavirus (HPV) is most associated with cervical cancer risk and women, a new survey commissioned by The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) shows that the majority of people are unaware that the virus is actually more common among men than women and is associated with rising rates of other cancers that directly impact men.
The consumer survey sought to understand the public’s knowledge of the lesser known but common virus – specifically how it is spread and its impact on cancer risk.
Survey results were clear: most respondents didn’t know much about HPV and its long-term cancer risk, and they have misperceptions of how the infection is spread. That lack of knowledge, says Electra Paskett, PhD, a cancer control researcher at the OSUCCC – James, leaves many people at unnecessary risk for preventable cancers.
“We have a vaccine that has been shown to reduce the risk of HPV infection by up to 90%,” said Paskett. “This is a powerful tool for cancer prevention that has only been available to us in the past few decades, and we are seeing the impact of those vaccines now through the scientific data.”
Debunking myths about HPV
For this survey, respondents were asked if they agree or disagree with some basic statements about HPV to gauge public knowledge. Survey results showed that many people think this is an infection that impacts women more than men.
“This is concerning because more men are infected with HPV than women and they could unknowingly spread it to their partners,” said Paskett, who also serves as Marion N. Rowley Professor of Cancer Research and professor in The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
Specific results from the survey include:
Nearly half of respondents (45%) did not know if HPV was linked to cancers beyond cervical. FACT: It is the primary risk factor for cervical cancer but is also linked to rising rates of cancers that affect the tonsils, base of tongue, throat, neck, esophagus, anus and genitals according to peer-reviewed scientific data.
42% believed HPV was more common in women. FACT: HPV is more common in men, but because there is only a test for women, people mistakenly think HPV only affects women, according to the CDC.
40% believed that if you are infected with HPV, you will have symptoms. FACT: Many do not have symptoms until after they have cancer.
Power of prevention
Paskett noted that while the HPV vaccine is recommended between the ages of 9 and 12 for maximum effectiveness (prior to potential HPV exposure), it is now available to adults up until age 45.
Although the vaccine has been available since 2006, the lack of awareness that it can prevent cancer later in life has slowed progress in preventing these cancers. The CDC estimates that timely HPV vaccination could prevent 90% of cervical cancers alone, and only about half (56.9%) of children who qualify for the vaccine have received it. Among them, more girls and women are being vaccinated than boys and men.
HPV-related oropharyngeal (tonsil and tongue base) cancer cases rising rapidly
Right now, about 42 million people are infected with HPV, and most Americans (98%) have been exposed. The virus spreads through sexual contact (saliva or ejaculatory fluids) and can spread through childbirth. If the immune system can’t kill the virus, however, the cells can change into cancer.
OSUCCC – James head and neck surgeon Matthew Old, MD, cites concerns about rapidly rising rates of HPV-related oropharyngeal (tonsil and tongue base) cancers, noting that if this trend continues, they could quickly be among the most common forms of cancer in adults between the ages of 45 and 65.
Recent estimates suggest that oropharyngeal cancer may become one of the top three cancers among middle-aged men in the United States by 2045, and the most common form of cancer among elderly men in the next 10 years.
“It can take years or even decades for the genetic changes caused by HPV to take effect and transform into cancer,” said Old “Once exposed, there are currently no treatments for HPV infections, and many who are unvaccinated unknowingly carry and spread high-risk strains of the virus. That’s why vaccination is so important.”
To learn more about treatment and research at the OSUCCC – James, visit cancer.osu.edu or call 1-800-293-5066.
Survey Methodology
This study was conducted by SSRS on its Opinion Panel Omnibus platform. The SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus is a national, twice-per-month, probability-based survey. Data collection was conducted from February 7-9, 2025, among a sample of 1,005 respondents. The survey was conducted via web (n=975) and telephone (n=30) and administered in English. The margin of error for total respondents is +/-3.8 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus data are weighted to represent the target population of U.S. adults ages 18 or older.
###
END
Seoul National University College of Engineering announced that Professor Jungwon Park’s research team from the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering has developed a groundbreaking technology to observe atomic structural changes of nanoparticles in three dimensions.
This study, recognized as a revolutionary achievement that resolves a long-standing challenge even past Nobel laureates could not solve, was published online in Nature Communications, one of the most prestigious international journals, on January 29.
Recently, nanoparticles have garnered significant attention as they are widely used in developing functional materials for cutting-edge industries ...
College of Engineering at Seoul National University announced that a research team led by Professor Gwan-Hyoung Lee from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, in collaboration with the research teams of Professors Hyejin Jang and Jeong Woo Han from the same department, has successfully developed the new synthesis technology of 2D semiconductors. This groundbreaking technique enables the direct growth of wafer-scale single-crystal 2D semiconductors on various substrates.
The research were published in "Nature," the world's most ...
Researchers in Sweden report a green alternative to reduce reliance on mining graphite, the raw source behind the next wonder material, graphene.
In the latest volume of the scientific journal Small, researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology say they have developed a reproducible and scalable method for producing graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets from commercial carbon fibers, marking a breakthrough in sustainable nanomaterial synthesis.
The process involves exfoliating carbon fibers with nitric acid, which provides high yields of one-atom-thick sheets of graphene oxide with characteristics comparable ...
Worldwide obesity rates have more than doubled since 1990, with nearly a billion people now falling into the category. Though a complex interplay of genes, diet, and environment contribute, 90% of cases share one thing in common: leptin resistance.
In lean individuals, fat cells produce the hormone leptin, which suppresses appetite. But in most individuals with obesity, this signal fails to register. Why this happens has been a mystery for more than three decades, ever since Jeffrey M. Friedman’s laboratory at the Rockefeller University cloned the leptin gene in 1994.
But now Bowen Tan, Kristina Hedbacker, ...
WASHINGTON, March 4, 2025 – Seismology has revealed much of the basics about earthquakes: Tectonic plates move, causing strain energy to build up, and that energy eventually releases in the form of an earthquake. As for forecasting them, however, there’s still much to learn in order to evacuate cities before catastrophes like the 2011 magnitude 9.0 Tōhoku earthquake that, in addition to causing a tsunami that led to the Fukushima nuclear disaster, resulted in more than 18,000 deaths.
In recent years, research has focused on a possible correlation between ...
About The Study: This cohort study found no significant association between the preoperative use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) and short-term postoperative aspiration pneumonia despite growing concerns about the adverse effects of these medications after surgery. This finding suggests that it may be beneficial to reassess the preoperative withholding guidelines for GLP-1 RAs.
Corresponding author: To contact the corresponding author, Eric L. Smith, M.D., email esmith@nebh.org.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.0081)
Editor’s ...
About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that higher perceived discrimination in health care settings is positively associated with delaying health care due to nervousness about seeing a health care professional. The largest mediation proportion observed was among younger adults and racial and ethnic minority groups. By prioritizing better patient-clinician communication, health care delays associated with patient apprehension related to perceived discrimination may be reduced.
Corresponding author: To contact the corresponding author, Maryam Jafari Bidgoli, ...
About The Study: In this retrospective multi-institutional study, patients who underwent surgery immediately preceding the weekend had a significantly increased risk of complications, readmissions, and mortality compared with those treated after the weekend. Further study is needed to understand differences in care that may underpin these observations and ensure that patients receive high-quality care regardless of the day of the week.
Corresponding author: To contact the corresponding author, Raj Satkunasivam, M.D., ...
Nearly 40% of adult Americans say they’ve experienced some type of sport-related mistreatment in their lives, a new study shows.
Mistreatment ranged from psychological and emotional to physical and sexual. But most people who reported mistreatment experienced more than one kind, the research found.
And one-third of those who never even played organized sports reported sports-related mistreatment.
“Many people talk about how they hated middle school or high school because of recess or gym class and the abuse or shame they felt playing sports in that environment,” said Chris Knoester, co-author of the study and professor of sociology ...
Children who frequently miss school because of abdominal complaints are far more likely to be suffering from disorders of the gut-brain axis such as irritable bowel syndrome than diseases that can be detected with medical tests, new UVA Health Children’s research has found. The discovery could improve care for children with these common GI disorders and might spare them from a barrage of unproductive tests.
UVA’s Stephen M. Borowitz, MD, and fourth-year medical student Seth M. Tersteeg looked at school absenteeism as reported by parents who brought their children to UVA Health Children’s Pediatric Gastroenterology Clinic. Children who had missed more ...
