Trends in Human Papillomavirus-Associated Cancers - United States, 1999-2015

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a known cause of cervical cancer, as well as some oropharyngeal, vulvar, vaginal, penile, and anal cancers. To assess trends, characterized by average annual percent change (AAPC), in HPV-associated cancer incidence during 1999-2015, CDC analyzed data from cancer registries covering 97.8% of the U.S.

A total of 30,115 new cases of HPV-associated cancers were reported in 1999 and 43,371 in 2015. During 1999-2015, cervical cancer rates decreased 1.6% per year; vaginal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) rates decreased 0.6% per year; oropharyngeal SCC rates increased among both men (2.7%) and women (0.8%); anal SCC rates also increased among both men (2.1%) and women (2.9%); vulvar SCC rates increased (1.3%); and penile SCC rates remained stable. In 2015 oropharyngeal SCC (15,479 cases among men and 3,438 among women) was the most common HPV-associated cancer. Continued surveillance through high-quality cancer registries is important to monitor cancer incidence and trends in these potentially preventable cancers.