HPV vaccines | NITAG RESOURCE CENTER

Burden & epidemiology

Number of new cases per year (last 3-5 years)

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in terms of incidence in women, with an estimated 660,000 new cases in 2022 ^{Go to footnote 11, Go to footnote 22}

Cervical cancers account for over 90% of HPV-related cancers in women. ^{Go to footnote 33}

Country-level data: Please refer to the country reports in the HPV Centre. ^{Go to footnote 44}

Proportion of the population affected by the disease or infected with the antigen

Cervical cancer is the most common cancer type in 25 countries and the leading cause of cancer death in 37 countries, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa as well as South America and South-Eastern Asia. ^{Go to footnote 22}
The estimated global HPV prevalence between 1995 and 2009 was 11.7% (95% CI 11.6%-11.7%). ^{Go to footnote 55}
Highest prevalence of cervical HPV among women is in sub-Saharan Africa (24%), followed by Latin America and the Caribbean (16%), Eastern Europe (14%), and South-East Asia (14%). Prevalence in men is highly variable based on sexual trends. ^{Go to footnote 66, Go to footnote 77}

Serogroup or serotype distribution (for serogroup- or serotype-specific vaccines)

Currently 12 HPV types are defined as high-risk (oncogenic) and cause cancer in humans (types 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59); type 68 is classified as probably causing cancer. Oncogenic risk varies by type, with type HPV16 being the most oncogenic. ^{Go to footnote 88}
The most common HPV genotypes found in invasive cervical cancer are HPV16 and HPV18, together accounting for about 77% of cases. Other significant high-risk types include HPV31, 33, 35, 45, 52, and 58, which collectively contribute to nearly 95% of cases globally. ^{Go to footnote 99}
To note that 2010 data is seen as a historical baseline. Given that the existing _HPV vaccines cover HPV-16 and HPV-18 types, measuring the "natural" seroprevalence burden for these two types (16 and 18) will no longer be possible, as they start to disappear due to vaccination. ^{Go to footnote 1010}
A more recent metaanalysis of HPV among men showed a global pooled prevalence of 31% (95% CI 27–35) for any HPV. Pooled prevalence estimates were similar for the regions of Europe and Northern America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Oceania, while estimates for Eastern and South-Eastern Asia were half that of the other regions. ^{Go to footnote 1111}

Number of deaths from the disease per year

Cervical cancer was the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in women in 2022, with around 350 000 deaths worldwide. ^{Go to footnote 1212}

Case Fatality ratio (number of deaths / number of new cases, in %)

Cervical cancer mortality rates were six times higher in low HDI countries versus very high HDI countries.
CFR differing by country income level and health system capacity. No single global estimate available. ^{Go to footnote 1313}

Outbreak, epidemic or pandemic risk

Not applicable for HPV

Contribution of the vaccine to achievement of the national, regional or global disease goals

The HPV vaccine plays a critical role in the global strategy to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030. By targeting high-risk HPV types, widespread HPV vaccination programs are integral to reducing the incidence of the disease. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) global strategy against cervical cancer sets ambitious goals: vaccinating 90% of girls by age 15, screening 70% of women by age 35 and again by 45, and treating 90% of women with pre-cancerous lesions. ^{Go to footnote 1414}

Sources

Go back to footnote reference 1
Global Cancer Observatory [website]. Lyon: International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC); 2022 (https://gco.iarc.fr/today/en, accessed 19 June 2025).
Go back to footnote reference 2a Go back to footnote reference 2b
Bray F, Laversanne M, Weiderpass E, Soerjomataram I (2024). Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 74(3):229–263. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21834.
Go back to footnote reference 3
World Health Organization (2023). Human papillomavirus (HPV) and cancer. Geneva: World Health Organization (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/human-papilloma-virus-and-cancer, accessed 19 June 2025).
Go back to footnote reference 4
Country-level data: Country Reports, HPV Centre, (https://hpvcentre.net/datastatistics.php)
Go back to footnote reference 5
Bruni L, Diaz M, Castellsagué M, Ferrer E, Bosch FX, de Sanjosé S (2010). Cervical human papillomavirus prevalence in 5 continents: meta-analysis of 1 million women with normal cytological findings. J Infect Dis. 202(12):1789–1799. https://doi.org/10.1086/657321.
Go back to footnote reference 6
Human papillomavirus and cancer [fact sheet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2024 (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/human-papilloma-virus-and-cancer, accessed 19 June 2025).
Go back to footnote reference 7
Cervical cancer [fact sheet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2024 (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cervical-cancer, accessed 19 June 2025).
Go back to footnote reference 8
Bruni L, Diaz M, Castellsagué X, et al. (2010). Cervical human papillomavirus prevalence in 5 continents: meta-analysis of 1 million women with normal cytological findings. J Infect Dis. 202(12):1789–1799. doi:10.1086/657321.
Go back to footnote reference 9
Wei F, Georges D, Man I, Baussano I, Clifford GM (2024). Causal attribution of human papillomavirus genotypes to invasive cervical cancer worldwide: a systematic analysis of the global literature. Lancet. 404(10451):435–444. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(24)01097-3.
Go back to footnote reference 10
Gray P, Kann H, Pimenoff V, Adhikari I, Eriksson T, Surcel H, Vänskä S, Dillner J, Faust H, Lehtinen M (2020). Long‐term follow‐up of human papillomavirus type replacement among young pregnant Finnish females before and after a community‐randomised HPV vaccination trial with moderate coverage. Int J Cancer. 147:3511–3522. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.33169 (accessed 19 June 2025).
Go back to footnote reference 11
Bruni L, Albero G, Rowley J, Alemany L, Arbyn M, Giuliano AR, Markowitz LE, Broutet N, Taylor M (2023). Global and regional estimates of genital human papillomavirus prevalence among men: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Glob Health. 11(9):e1403–e1414. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00305-4 (accessed 19 June 2025).
Go back to footnote reference 12
Global Cancer Observatory: Cancer Tomorrow [website]. Lyon: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2022 (https://gco.iarc.fr/tomorrow, accessed 19 June 2025).
Go back to footnote reference 13
Singh D, Vignat J, Lorenzoni V, Eslahi M, Ginsburg O, Lauby-Secretan B, Arbyn M, Basu P, Bray F, Vaccarella S (2023). Global estimates of incidence and mortality of cervical cancer in 2020: a baseline analysis of the WHO Global Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative. Lancet Glob Health. 11(2):e197–e206. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(22)00501-0
Go back to footnote reference 14
World Health Organization (2020). Global strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem. Geneva: World Health Organization (https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240014107, accessed 19 June 2025).