Doctors Urge Hong Kong to Include Boys in Free HPV Vaccination Programme
On.cc · 2 SOURCESabout 5 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
The 2026 World Cancer Conference, jointly organised by the International Union Against Cancer and the Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society, was held in Hong Kong from September 24 to 26, bringing together over 2,000 experts to discuss anti-cancer strategies . Speaking at the conference, Dr Kwan Yat-wah, a specialist in paediatric immunology, allergy and infectious diseases and former president of the Asian Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases, urged the government to review its policies and include males in the routine 9-valent HPV vaccination programme . He highlighted that HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer has risen sharply over the past decade, with a local retrospective study showing that the proportion of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer cases nearly doubled from 20% in 2005-2009 to nearly 40% in 2016-2020 .
Key Points
- The 2026 World Cancer Conference took place in Hong Kong from September 24 to 26, attracting over 2,000 medical experts from around the world .
- Dr Kwan Yat-wah, a specialist in paediatric immunology, allergy and infectious diseases, warned that males have higher HPV infection rates than females and lower antibody production rates, increasing their risk of HPV-related genital warts or cancers .
- A Hong Kong retrospective study documented a dramatic rise in HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer, with the detection rate climbing from 20% during 2005-2009 to approximately 40% during 2016-2020 .
- In the United States, male oropharyngeal cancer has already surpassed female cervical cancer as the most common HPV-related cancer .
- A dynamic transmission model study for Hong Kong found that implementing routine 9-valent HPV vaccination for 12-year-old children of both sexes could substantially reduce HPV-related disease incidence, mortality and associated treatment costs .
Why It Matters
Hong Kong's HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer trend mirrors the global pattern and appears linked to distinct local HPV strains, underscoring the urgent need for gender-neutral vaccination policies and targeted prevention strategies to curb a growing public health burden .
Hong Kong's HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer trend mirrors the global pattern and appears linked to distinct local HPV strains, underscoring the urgent need for gender-neutral vaccination policies and targeted prevention strategies to curb a growing public health burden .