'Awareness and knowledge of human papillomavirus in UK women aged 25 years and over: Results from a cross-sectional internet-based survey': Lessons for HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer

摘要

Working in head and neck oncology, where male oropharyngeal cancer incidence now surpasses cervical cancer incidence in both the UK and the United States (Lechner, Jones, Breeze, & Gilson, 2019; supplemental Figures 1 and 2), we read "Awareness and knowledge of human papillomavirus in UK women aged 25 years and over: Results from a cross-sectional internet-based survey" by Kola-Palmer and Dhingra (2020) with interest. The authors interviewed 246 women, 79% of women had a cervical smear test on a regular basis and 86% were aware that HPV causes cervical cancer, and 72% of women were aware that having multiple sexual partners increases the risk of getting HPV. HPV-positive woman had significantly higher knowledge score then HPV-negative or woman unaware of their HPV status; students reported significantly higher knowledge than those employed. Ethnicity, education level, marital status or household income did not influence HPV knowledge. But less than 40% of re-sponders were aware that most sexually active people will get HPV atsome point. The authors concluded thatalthough HPV knowledge appears to be increasing, general levels of HPV knowledge remain concerning.