HPV vaccination linked to lower cancer risk
Females aged 9–26 who received human papillomavirus vaccination had fewer new cancer diagnoses over 5 years than matched unvaccinated females.
*Retrospective matched cohort study; Level 2b (OCEBM).

Citation

Hung YM, Lin TTA, Wang SI, et al. HPV vaccination is associated with lower risk of cancers among females. The American Journal of Medicine. 2026;139:311–320. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2025.10.016.

Background

Human papillomavirus vaccines prevent several cancers, but long-term, broad cancer outcomes in real-world settings are less certain. This study examined whether vaccination is linked to lower cancer risk in young females.

Patients

Females aged 9–26 years in a large United States electronic health record network (2013–2022) with at least two visits. Excluded: pregnancy, death, known prior human papillomavirus infection, and any cancer before or at the start date.

Intervention

Completion of a human papillomavirus vaccine series (start date = series completion).

Control

No recorded human papillomavirus vaccination (start date = first visit in the study period). Groups were closely matched on measured baseline factors.

Outcome

First-time diagnosis of any cancer and several cancer categories, counting events from 90 days after the start date.

Follow-up Period

Up to 5 years.

Results

Outcome (90 days to 5 years) Hazard ratio (95% confidence interval)
Any cancer (primary)0.38 (0.34 to 0.43)
Breast cancer0.21 (0.12 to 0.37)
Urinary tract cancers0.18 (0.09 to 0.36)
Brain and nervous system cancers0.26 (0.18 to 0.37)
Lymph node and blood cancers0.36 (0.29 to 0.46)
The absolute 5-year risk of any cancer was low (0.11% vs 0.31%); number needed to vaccinate to prevent one cancer diagnosis over 5 years ≈ 503.
Associations were stronger when vaccination started at ages 9–14 than 15–26, and remained directionally similar in multiple sensitivity analyses (including comparisons with influenza-vaccinated controls).

Limitations

Because this was not a randomized study, unmeasured differences between groups could explain some findings (for example, health-seeking behavior or missed infection history). Diagnoses and vaccinations may be incomplete outside participating systems. Despite large relative differences, the short-term absolute cancer reduction was modest because cancers were rare in this age group.

Funding

Government and hospital grants from Taiwan; funders had no role.

Clinical Application

Reinforces recommending early, on-time human papillomavirus vaccination series completion; expect modest short-term absolute cancer reduction, with uncertain applicability to males or older adults.