Vaccination of children and adolescents against HPV – prevent cancer / On March 4th, HPV …

03/01/2022 – 10:45 am

German Cancer Aid

Bonn (ots)

The HPV vaccination protects against infections with human papilloma viruses (HPV) and thus also against cancer that can develop as a result of the infection. These include cancers such as cervical cancer and cancer of the mouth and throat. The vaccination has been available in Germany since 2006, but up to now it has still not been taken up enough. On the occasion of HPV Awareness Day on March 4th, the German Cancer Aid is appealing to all parents to seize this opportunity to prevent cancer and have their children between the ages of 9 and 14 vaccinated. Scientists in Heidelberg are currently developing an interactive website that will provide both parents and young people with better information about vaccination and support them in making vaccination decisions. The German Cancer Aid supports the project with 297,000 euros.

In Germany alone, around 7,700 people develop HPV-related cancer every year. These include cervical cancer as well as cancer in the mouth and throat, in the anus and in the genital area. The Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) recommends vaccination against carcinogenic human papillomavirus for boys and girls aged 9 to 14 years. Missed vaccinations can be made up for up to the age of 17.

“Unfortunately, the HPV vaccination rate is alarmingly low: Less than 50 percent of 15-year-old girls and only a negligibly small proportion of boys are fully vaccinated against HPV,” states Gerd Nettekoven, CEO of German Cancer Aid. “There are various reasons for this: In Germany, there is still a lack of structures and strategies that automatically remind children and parents to be vaccinated. Many parents simply do not know about the vaccination or have concerns about its benefits.”

The German Cancer Aid is therefore funding an interdisciplinary project at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg: Scientists led by Professor Dr. Frank Rösl, head of the Viral Transformation Mechanisms department, and Dr. Katrin Platzer, head of the Heidelberg Science Lab at the DKFZ, are developing an interactive website whose content is scientifically tailored to parents on the one hand and children and young people on the other. Not only will it contain information about HPV, the risks of infection and the benefits of vaccination, it will also help users to put their vaccination plans into action. Among other things, the researchers use a special psychological method – the so-called “mental contrasting”. The extent to which this approach proves to be effective will be tested in this study.

“Digital applications and, above all, the availability of professional and understandable information through smartphones and tablets are contemporary media that can be very helpful in the prevention of serious diseases such as cancer. So far, however, there has been a lack of sufficient scientific criteria and, above all, data on how such initiatives actually contribute to improving health,” explain Rösl and Platzer. “Our project will provide important insights that will also be relevant for other digital offers.”

background information

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is widespread and infects both women and men. They are often transmitted during the first sexual contact. Almost everyone becomes infected with the virus in the course of their life – whereby the infection usually goes undetected and often subsides on its own. Currently, 12 of the more than 200 HPV types known to date are classified as carcinogenic. For more information, go to: https://www.krebshilfe.de/informieren/ueber-krebs/krebs-vorbeugen/hpv-impfung/

Individual information on HPV vaccination is provided by the INFONETZ Krebs of the German Cancer Aid (free telephone number: 0800/80708877).

Press contact:

German Cancer Aid
press office
Buschstr. 32
53113 Bonn
Telephone: 02 28/7 29 90-96
Email: [email protected]
Internet: www.krebshilfe.de

Original content from: Deutsche Krebshilfe, transmitted by news aktuell

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