A majority of Americans are unaware that HPV, the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S., can cause a number of major cancers, a new study found. Researchers were surprised over one finding in particular: a decline in awareness that HPV, human papillomavirus, is linked to cervical cancer.
Nearly all sexually active women and men become infected with HPV at some point, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to CDC estimates, currently more than 42 million Americans carry at least one strain of HPV. About 13 million people are infected each year.
In the new study, which will be presented Tuesday at the American Association for Cancer Research’s annual meeting, researchers analyzed nationally representative survey data collected by the Health Information National Trends Survey that monitored U.S. adults’ knowledge about the virus’s connection to cancer. There were about 2,000 to 2,300 annual respondents to the survey, including for 2014 and yearly from 2017 to 2020.