HPV infection causes up to 130 cancer deaths in Ireland every year, however most of these are potentially preventable as a result of the HPV vaccine, a new report has found.

There are many types of HPV (human papillomavirus), most of which are harmless. However some strains can be serious, such as those that cause a number of different cancers, including cervical, penile and anal/rectal cancer.

According to the report from the National Cancer Registry of Ireland (NCRI), HPV infection causes up to 420 cancer cases here per year and up to 130 cancer deaths.

Three in four of these cases are found among women and cervical cancer is the most common type of HPV-related cancer diagnosed.

While detailed figures specific to Ireland are not yet available on the proportion of cancers that are directly attributable to HPV, recent figures from the US suggest that 91% of all cervical cancers are caused by the virus, as well as 91% of all anal/rectal cancers. Up to 75% of all penile and vaginal cancers are also caused by it.

A national HPV vaccination programme has been in place since 2010 and as part of this, all girls attending first year in secondary school are offered the HPV vaccine free of charge. Most risk is attributable to HPV types 16 and 18, which are included in the vaccine.

"Although the figures here are preliminary estimates or approximations, they suggest that effective use of the current HPV vaccine could, over time, prevent up to two-thirds of all HPV-associated cancers in Irish women, and up to half of those cancers in men, or three-fifths of cases across both sexes, if vaccination were extended to boys," the report stated.

Speaking about the findings, NCRI director, Prof Kerri Clough-Gorr, emphasised that cancers associated with HPV infection ‘are potentially highly preventable'.

"Much progress has been made in vaccinating girls against HPV, with the aim of reducing infection and, ultimately, the number of pre-cancerous lesions that may progress to cervical cancer. There is also good reason to believe HPV vaccination should be effective in preventing other specific cancers, and the potential benefits of extending HPV vaccination to boys are currently being considered," she explained.

However, she expressed concern about the ‘recent severe downturn' in the uptake rate of HPV vaccination among Irish girls, ‘reflecting unconfirmed vaccine safety concerns'.

"This needs to be addressed urgently to help reduce the impact of these often-fatal cancers," Prof Clough-Gorr said.

The NCRI report was welcomed by the Irish Cancer Society and it is calling for increased investment to improve uptake among girls and to extend the vaccination programme to boys.

"This report puts a spotlight on the devastating consequences this virus can have on women and men. The vast majority of us will develop a HPV infection at some point in our lives, and for most, this will be harmless. Sadly though, around 420 men and women in Ireland each year are diagnosed with a cancer caused by HPV infection and these cancers claim up to 130 lives each year," commented the society's head of services and advocacy, Donal Buggy.

He also expressed concern about vaccine uptake rates among first-year secondary school girls, which have fallen to as low as 50% in the space of two years.

"If this worrying trend is not reversed, women will continue to die needlessly from HPV-caused cancers," Mr Buggy noted.

He also insisted that while boys can avail of this vaccine from their GP for a fee, they should be included in the vaccination programme.

"The Irish Cancer Society believes it is time for the Government to invest in the extension of the national HPV school vaccination programme to boys, so that as many lives as possible can be saved," he added.