Prevalence and predictors of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among young women surviving childhood cancer

Human papillomavirus (hpv) is a sexually transmitted infection and the cause of cervical and other cancers. vaccination is available to protect against genital hpv and is recommended for individuals aged 9–26 years. this study aimed to estimate the prevalence of hpv vaccination among childhood cancer survivors and to identify factors associated with vaccine outcomes. young adult females with (n = 114; m age = 21.18 years, sd = 2.48) and without (n = 98; m age = 20.65 years, sd = 2.29) a childhood cancer history completed surveys querying hpv vaccination initiation/completion, as well as sociodemographic, medical, and health belief factors. multivariable logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ors) and 95 % confidence intervals (cis) for vaccine outcomes. among survivors, 38.6 % (44/114) and 26.3 % (30/114) initiated or completed vaccination compared to 44.9 % (44/98) and 28.6 % (28/98) among controls, respectively. in the combined survivor/control group, physician recommendation (or = 11.24, 95 % ci 3.15–40.14) and familial hpv communication (or = 7.28, 95 % ci 1.89–28.05) associated with vaccine initiation. perceptions of vaccine benefit associated with vaccine completion (or = 10.55, 95 % ci 1.59–69.92), whereas perceptions of hpv-related severity associated with non-completion (or = 0.14, 95 % ci 0.03–0.71). despite their increased risk for hpv-related complication, a minority of childhood cancer survivors have initiated or completed hpv vaccination. modifiable factors associated with vaccine outcomes were identified. hpv vaccination is a useful tool for cancer prevention in survivorship, and interventions to increase vaccine uptake are warranted.