Why young patients with cancer refuse the human papillomavirus vaccine

Despite their elevated risk for developing cervical, oropharyngeal, and other human papillomavirus (HPV)–related cancers and the strong and consistent evidence for the HPV vaccine’s safety and efficacy, many young cancer survivors reject this vaccine. In a new study appearing in Cancer, researchers from Emory University School of Medicine and the Aflac Cancer & Blood Disorders Center (both in Atlanta, Georgia), the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (Memphis, Tennessee) investigate the reasons that many young survivors are rejecting this vaccine (doi:10.1002/cncr.34521).

Senior study author Wendy Landier, PhD, a professor in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and deputy director of the Institute for Cancer Outcomes and Survivorship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, says that this is the first study to systematically characterize reasons for HPV vaccine refusal by a large group of young cancer survivors (or their parents).

HPV vaccine–naive childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer survivors were invited to participate in an open-label clinical trial conducted from January 12, 2013, and October 5, 2018, that evaluated the immunogenicity of the vaccine and safety of a quadrivalent HPV vaccine. According to Dr Landier, “We methodically recorded study refusal reasons in real time for those declining participation.”

Two researchers independently reviewed these reasons for refusal and developed coding lists for primary and secondary reasons for declining the vaccine. Four of the study researchers then developed the final categories of reasons for refusal. Associations of these various reasons with participant characteristics, including sex, race/ethnicity, cancer diagnosis, and age, were examined to help guide clinicians in improving adherence with vaccine guidelines.

Of the 755 survivors eligible to participate in the study of vaccine safety and efficacy, 301 (39.9%) declined to participate. Among those who declined, 86 survivors or their parents (28.6%) cited reasons unrelated to the HPV vaccine. For example,

some said that they simply were not interested or were uncomfortable with taking part in any research study or had concerns about the needle sticks required for study-related blood draws, or they mentioned “logistical concerns.”

The 215 survivors or their parents who refused clinical trial participation for vaccine-related reasons became the focus of this study. Approximately 75% (75.3%) were non-Hispanic White, 53.0% were male, and 54.9% had had leukemia or lymphoma. The ages of the survivors ranged from 9.0 to 26.9 years; the median age at which they were first offered study participation was 14.2 years. The survivors had completed cancer therapy 1–5 years (median, 2.8 years) before they were offered the study.