Abstract D027: Disparities in HPV awareness and knowledge of HPV-associated cancers
Authors: Tesfay Robel , Moser Richard 
Published: September 2020

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. The virus is responsible for 3% of all cancers in men and 2% of all cancers in women, resulting in 43,000 new cases of HPV-associated cancers per year, including cervical, oral, and anogenital cancers. This study aimed to assess these gaps in knowledge across several socio-demographic indicators. Data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 4 Cycle 4 (2014), HINTS 5 Cycle 1 (2017), and HINTS 5 Cycle 2 (2018) were combined resulting in a sample size of 10,466 respondents aged ≥ 18 years. Weighted, multi-variable logistic regression models were used to estimate gender, age, education, household income, and racial/ethnic disparities in knowledge of HPV and associated cancers. Predictors were also tested for interactions over time. Compared to males, females had significantly higher odds of hearing about HPV (OR=3.10) and linking HPV and cervical cancer (OR=1.73). Compared to US adults 18-34 years, each age subgroup in the study had lower odds of HPV awareness with significant differences in ages 50 and above. The gap in knowledge also shows a negative linear trend with age (35-49, OR=0.91; 50-64, OR=0.50; 65-74, OR=0.32; and 75+, OR=0.15). Similarly, respondents aged 50-64, 65-74, and 75+ had significantly lower odds of recognizing the HPV-cervical cancer link, when compared to 18-34 year old respondents (OR=0.75, OR=0.55, and OR=0.48), respectively. In comparison to Non-Hispanic (NH) White respondents, there were significantly decreased odds of HPV awareness among NH Asians (OR=0.20), NH Blacks (OR=0.63), and Hispanics (OR=0.68). NH Blacks and NH Other respondents also had significantly lower odds of associating HPV with cervical cancer (OR=0.58 & OR=0.49), respectively. Those with some college and a college or more education were 2.36 and 3.27 more likely to know that HPV can cause cervical cancer when compared to those with a less than high school education, respectively. Compared to US households earning less than $20,000, those earning more than $75,000 had higher odds of knowing that HPV can cause cervical cancer (OR=1.64). Interaction effects of education and income with HPV awareness are currently under investigation. No significant age, race/ethnicity, gender or education differences were observed for HPV association with oral, anal and penile cancers, however, an overall low awareness of the causal relationships can be observed. Overall, interventions towards increasing HPV and cervical cancer knowledge should be targeted towards men, older populations and racial/ethnic minorities. This is especially crucial considering the disproportionate impact of HPV and associated cancers in these same groups. There should also be an increased effort towards educating the public about the causal link between HPV and penile, anal, and oral cancers. Increased awareness could in turn lead to safer sex practices and an increased HPV vaccine uptake in these communities.

Citation Format: Robel Tesfay, Richard Moser. Disparities in HPV awareness and knowledge of HPV-associated cancers [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr D027.