Up to 420 people will be diagnosed with – and 130 will die from – a HPV-caused cancer this year in Ireland. Vaccination can stop this.

Administering HPV vaccine to both boys and girls is most effective in preventing range of cancers caused by the virus, public talk to hear

Both boys and girls should receive a life-saving vaccine which can prevent a range of cancers, including those of the head and neck, a public talk will hear tonight.

Thursday July 27 marks World Head and Neck Cancer Day and, as part of a global effort to reduce deaths from these conditions, a leading expert in head and neck cancers has outlined the reality of vaccinating against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which is a growing cause of such cancers.

Around 420 men and women in Ireland each year are diagnosed with a cancer caused by HPV infection. Around 69 of these are cancers of the head and neck. In total, these HPV-caused cancers claim up to 130 lives each year.

While the HPV vaccine has the potential to prevent the majority of these cancer incidences, currently it is only available for free to first year second-level schoolgirls under the HSE’s national vaccination programme. Boys can avail of the vaccine through their GP, but for a fee.

[[{"fid":"7154","view_mode":"preview","fields":{"format":"preview","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Photo of RCSI Professor James Paul O'Neill","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"preview","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Photo of RCSI Professor James Paul O'Neill","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"alt":"Photo of RCSI Professor James Paul O'Neill","style":"float: right; margin: 2px;","class":"media-element file-preview","data-delta":"1"}}]]At the Irish Cancer Society ‘Decoding Cancer’ talk: ‘HPV, Cancer and Vaccination – Time for a Reality Check’, James Paul O’Neill, Professor of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, at the RCSI Education and Research Centre, Beaumont Hospital, will outline the realities faced by those treated for head and neck cancers.

The talk will also hear from a Head and Neck cancer survivor who will outline her personal experience and describe how her life has been affected by her diagnosis.

Speaking ahead of tonight’s talk, Professor O’Neill said: “Head and neck cancers include cancers of the mouth, salivary glands, pharynx, larynx (voicebox), throat, nasal cavity/middle ear and sinuses. Mouth and throat cancers in men and women are becoming more common and a high percentage of these cancers are caused by the Human Papilloma Virus.

“While advances in cancer research means that survival rates for these cancers are gradually increasing, the treatments patients undergo can have life-long and life-changing effects. Cancer survivors can be left with difficulties in swallowing and speaking, and may require extensive post-treatment therapy long after their cancer is gone.

“Such effects can be devastating, which is why we must do all that we can to prevent as many people as possible from being diagnosed with a head and neck cancer. HPV vaccination gives us the ability to prevent needless suffering and death. It is therefore only right that the vaccine is made available to both boys and girls so that as many people as possible can be spared from the spectrum of HPV-driven cancers.”

Head of Research at the Irish Cancer Society, Dr Robert O’Connor, added: “Earlier this month the Health Information and Quality Authority announced that it will undertake a Health Technology Assessment (HTA) which will examine the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of extending the HPV vaccine to boys. The Irish Cancer Society strongly welcomes this development.

“While cervical cancer is the most common cancer caused by HPV, we should not forget that each year around 155 people in Ireland will be diagnosed with a different type of HPV-caused cancer – that’s one person nearly every second day. HPV infection can cause cancers of the cervix, vagina, and vulva in women; cancers of the penis in men; and cancers of the anus and back of the throat, including the base of the tongue and tonsils (oropharynx) in women and men.

“While 335 women are diagnosed with cancers caused by HPV each year, it is also important to note that 85 men in Ireland annually develop a cancer which could potentially be prevented by a simple and safe vaccination. The Irish Cancer Society believes it is time for the Government to invest in the extension of the national HPV school vaccination programme to boys, so that as many lives as possible can be saved.”

The public talk ‘HPV, Cancer and Vaccination – Time for a Reality Check’ takes place in the Albert Lecture Theatre, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 123 St Stephens Green, Dublin 2.

The event is fully booked, but the talk will be live-streamed through a link on the Irish Cancer Society’s Facebook page from 6.30pm. Join in the conversation on social media #DecodingCancer.