WEDNESDAY, July 30, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Over the past several decades, the incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related noncervical cancers has increased in Canada, according to research published online July 22 in CMAJ Open.
Lorraine Shack, Ph.D., of Alberta Health Services in Calgary, Canada, and colleagues analyzed Alberta Cancer Registry data from 1975 through 2009 to assess the incidence of HPV-associated cancers.
The researchers found that, for each five-year interval of the study period, the age-standardized incidence of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancers increased for men (annual percentage change, 3.4; P < 0.001) and women (annual percentage change, 1.5; P = 0.009). The age-standardized incidence of HPV-related anal cancers increased for women (annual percentage change, 2.2; P < 0.001) and men (annual percentage change, 1.8; P = 0.008). Among women, the age-standardized incidence of HPV-related cervical cancer decreased with age and reached an annual percentage change of −3.5 among women aged 75 to 84 years (P = 0.04). Little change was observed in the rates of other HPV-related cancers, including penile, vaginal, and vulvar cancer.
"Our findings showed increases in the incidence of the HPV-associated cancers of the oropharynx and anus among men and women, and increases in cervical cancer among younger women," the authors write. "Programs to prevent HPV infection, such as vaccination, should be considered for males as well as females."
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