Is it really possible to prevent cancer? What types of cancer can be prevented through vaccination?   

Yes, an estimated 40% of cancer cases are thought to be preventable by reducing the exposure to risk factors, including infections. The risk of getting some types of cancer can be greatly reduced by following the European Code Against Cancer. That code includes the suggestion to get vaccinated against vaccine-preventable cancers.  

The new Recommendation promotes vaccination against two viral infections that can cause cancer. Infection with Human papillomavirus (HPV) can lead to cervical cancer, other anogenital cancers (vulvar, vaginal, penile and anal cancers) and certain head and neck cancers, in particular oropharyngeal cancers. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) can cause liver cancer. 

We have safe and effective vaccines against both of these viruses so that we can stop these cancers before they even start. HPV vaccines were introduced in Europe only after the European Commission approved the first of those vaccines in 2006, and there has already been a decline in the number of cervical cancers among young women who received the vaccine as adolescents. Australia could be the first country to eliminate cervical cancer through successful vaccination campaigns. The EU should do the same.  

We are also seeing decreasing rates of HBV as a result of vaccination and other prevention strategies. 

How widespread are these cancers in Europe? 

Some 28 600 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year in EU/EAA countries. And nearly half that number (13 700) die from the disease each year. This suffering and these deaths are, in the future, largely preventable because HPV infections are responsible for over 90% of cervical cancers.  

Globally, HBV and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections cause around 1.1 million deaths per year. Based on data from 2015, HBV and HCV infections, across the EU/EEA and the United Kingdom, are responsible for around 55% of all liver cancer deaths and 45% of all deaths due to cirrhosis and other chronic liver disease and result in around 64 000 deaths per year. 

What can be done so that more people benefit from these vaccines?  

Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan set the ambitious goal of vaccinating 90% of the EU target population of girls against HPV by 2030 and called for a significant increase in the vaccination of boys, too. In addition, Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan called for increased access to vaccination against HBV.  

People need to be aware that these vaccines can prevent several types of cancer and they need to have easy access to the vaccines. So we need to take a two-pronged approach: Making sure people are informed, and then making sure people get vaccinated.  

Let’s talk about raising awareness first. How do you propose doing that? 

The HPV vaccine is usually given to adolescents, although it can also be given to people older than that. But because it is primarily given to young people, we need to reach out to parents, schools and peers as well as to health professionals.  

The HPV vaccine is for both genders: Every young person, boy or girl, should be vaccinated. It is important that boys and their parents understand that men can also get cancer due to infection with HPV, and that vaccination against HPV can protect both the boys themselves and future partners, be they women or men.  

HBV vaccines target quite different population groups, ranging from infants to adults at high risk or in disadvantaged situations, as well as health professionals.  

Part of this effort – a big part – is fighting mis- and disinformation. This is why the proposal focuses on helping Member States to communicate about the importance of HPV and HBV vaccination as cancer prevention tools and provide accurate information on the safety and effectiveness of these vaccines. The Commission’s #UnitedinProtection awareness raising campaign is already available for use by Member States in this respect.  

The message is clear: getting vaccinated can prevent great suffering and early death.  

Does the Recommendation also include proposals on making these vaccines accessible? 

This is an important point. In the proposal, Member States are recommended to make these vaccines available to everyone, free of charge or fully reimbursed.  

We are also encouraging the exchange of best and promising practices, where Member States with high vaccination coverage rates share good ideas with other Member States so that everyone across the EU is equally protected.  

Member States are also asked to improve their monitoring of coverage rates, and we are ready to help them develop or upgrade electronic vaccination registries to do so. Change is data-driven, and better vaccination data, also at subnational level, is needed to know where and how to intervene.  

Vaccination is among the greatest achievements in public health. It has saved millions of lives that would have been lost to a wide range of diseases from polio and smallpox to COVID-19.  And vaccination continues to save millions of lives, here in Europe and across the globe. With successful vaccination against HPV and HBV, it can help save even more. 

More information:   

Press release - Commission recommends new measures on vaccine-preventable cancers under Europe's Beating Cancer Plan