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Epidemiology and Burden of Disease Associated with HPV Infection

  • Management of HPV and Associated Cervical Lesions (L Denny, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a carcinogen for the following human sites: cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, anus and oropharynx. Approximately 4.8 % of the global cancer incidence (in 2008) was attributable to HPV infections, although substantial differences were found by geographical region. The large majority (85 %) of the cancers attributed to HPV are cancers of the cervix, which were the fourth most common cancers worldwide among women in 2012. There is a clear correlation between the incidence (and mortality) of cervical cancer and the average level of development. Approximately 84 % (445,000 cases) of the total number of cervical cancer cases occur in the less developed regions (particularly, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and South/Central America). Uniform declines in cervical cancer incidence rates have been observed in countries where effective screening programmes have been put in place. However, increasing trends in cervical cancer incidence have been observed, e.g., in Eastern Europe, most likely as a consequence of an increased exposure to HPV infection and limited screening. A similar pattern of rising rates emerges in low-resource regions including sub-Saharan African countries (Uganda, Zimbabwe) where high-quality incidence data series are available. Incidence and mortality rates for HPV-related cancers other than cervix are low, but recent increases in anal and oropharyngeal cancers have been observed in some populations. The combined use of HPV vaccination and HPV-based testing in screening programmes should accelerate the decline of cervical cancer to reduce the burden of HPV-related diseases.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mathieu Laversanne for developing some of the graphics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Infections and Cancer Epidemiology Group, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 150 cours Albert Thomas, 69372, Lyon, Cedex 08, France

    S. Vaccarella

  2. Section of Cancer Surveillance, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 150 cours Albert Thomas, 69372, Lyon, Cedex 08, France

    F. Bray

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  1. S. Vaccarella
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Correspondence to S. Vaccarella.

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S. Vaccarella and F. Bray declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Management of HPV and Associated Cervical Lesions

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Vaccarella, S., Bray, F. Epidemiology and Burden of Disease Associated with HPV Infection. Curr Obstet Gynecol Rep 4, 181–188 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13669-015-0137-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13669-015-0137-8

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