[이진한 의학전문기자의 메디컬 현장]To make ‘human papillomavirus cancer’ disappear after 30 years｜Dong-A Ilbo

Jinhan Lee, medical reporter and doctor Human papillomavirus (HPV) accounts for about 5% of cancers worldwide. Among the diseases caused by HPV, cervical cancer in women is the most widely known. However, this virus causes various diseases in both men and women, including head and neck cancer, anal cancer, and genital warts. According to a study last year, at least one type of HPV was detected in one in three men over the age of 15 around the world, and one in five was found to be infected with high-risk HPV that causes cancer.

Among them, male head and neck cancer is not well known to the general public, but it is receiving attention in the medical community around the world. In the United States, the incidence of HPV-related head and neck cancer in men exceeds the incidence of cervical cancer in women. In Korea, the number of male head and neck cancer patients has continued to increase, more than doubling from 611 in 2013 to 1,222 in 2023.

HPV vaccination, which has been implemented as part of the national mandatory vaccination program since 2016, is currently supported only for female adolescents. Currently, the completion rate of the first HPV vaccine for girls about to enter middle school is close to 80%. On the other hand, the vaccination rate among male adolescents born in the same year is only 0.2%. The HPV vaccine is needed for men too.

Among the 18 national mandatory vaccinations, HPV is the only vaccine that is supported only for specific genders. During the last presidential election, President Yoon Seok-yeol said he would provide 9-valent HPV vaccine to male adolescents as well. At the National Assembly audit held last month, lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties on the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee questioned the need for men to receive the HPV vaccine.

HPV vaccination for male adolescents is a global trend. Of the 38 member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 33 are already vaccinating men. Korea, along with Mexico and Costa Rica, is one of the few countries that supports vaccination only for female adolescents.

In Canada and Australia, which are actively carrying out national HPV prevention projects, vaccination with the broad-spectrum 9-valent vaccine is recommended for both men and women aged 9 to 26. Australia has declared that it will become the first country in the world to end cervical cancer by 2035. This goal is possible because the HPV prevention project started 10 years before Korea.

Starting this month, the Budget and Settlement Special Committee (Settlement Committee), which deliberates next year’s government budget, has been operating for about a month. I hope that the expansion of HPV vaccination, which both ruling and opposition parties emphasize the importance of in the Budget and Accounts Committee, will be included in the government budget. Only then can our children not suffer from diseases and cancer caused by HPV 30 years from now.

Jinhan Lee, medical reporter and doctor likeday@donga.com

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