Assessment of the HPV-related cancer burden at cervical as well as non-cervical sites is needed to estimate the cancer preventive potential of HPV vaccination.
The objectives of the present study are: A) To describe incidence trends in cancer of the cervix, vulva, vagina, anus, penis and oropharynx in Norway during the period 1953-2014. B) To quantify the cancer preventive potential of HPV vaccination in Norway.
We present annual age-adjusted rates of primary squamous cell cancers of the cervix, vulva, vagina, anus, penis and oropharynx, and adenocarcinoma of the cervix, in Norway for the period 1953-2014. The data was collected from the Cancer Registry of Norway. To estimate the cancer preventive potential of HPV vaccination, the current cancer burden at each site was multiplied with the respective fraction of cancer cases attributable to any HPV, and to HPV16/18. Attributable fractions for each cancer site were derived from epidemiology literature reviews.
Increasing cancer trends were observed for some of the HPV-related cancer sites. Currently, for all sites combined, 480 new cancer cases per year can be attributed to HPV in Norway, of which 371 can be attributed to HPV16/18.
These data demonstrate that HPV vaccination may have a large public health impact in Norway. Moreover, the incidence of some HPV-related cancers is increasing, which adds to the importance of HPV vaccination for reducing the cancer burden in the future.