The Current Landscape for Human Papillomavirus Vaccination in Oropharyngeal Carcinoma.

Human papillomavirus is associated with the development of malignancies in the head and neck region, particularly oropharyngeal carcinoma. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in these virally mediated cancers, largely due to HPV strains 16 and 18. Existing literature supports a reduction in oral HPV infection following vaccination, and the FDA recently expanded the indication for the nonvalent Gardasil vaccine for use in HPV-related head and neck cancers in both men and women. The objectives of this paper are to review the evidence supporting the use of HPV vaccination in head and neck cancer, introduce HPV vaccinations currently being investigated in clinical trials, and assess barriers to production and widespread use of these vaccinations.