CDA Essentials 2016 • Volume 3 • Issue 8

33 Volume 3 Issue 7 | S upporting Y our P ractice The global burden of HPV-ASSOCIATEDCANCERS Dr. Eduardo Franco is a James McGill Professor in the departments of oncolog y and of epidemiolog y and biostatistics, director of the division of cancer epidemiolog y, and chair of the department of oncolog y at McGill University’s faculty of medicine. In 2016, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada for “ his ground breaking contributions to the prevention of cervical cancer in Canada and around the world.” As the opening speaker at an international consultation meeting on human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal cancer held in Washington, D.C., in 2015, Dr. Franco gave a presentation on the global burden of HPV-associated cancers and the role of HPV vaccination in cancer prevention. Here, he shares some of the key points from his presentation. To listen to Dr. Franco’s full interview visit oasisdiscussions.ca/ 2016/03/01/hpv-5 Dr. Eduardo Franco Many people, even health professionals, do not realize that infectious agents can be causes of cancer. It’s an important consideration because if we’re going to talk about prevention, there needs to be an understanding that cancer is not only associated with characteristics of lifestyle and chemical or physical environments, but with biological environments as well. Worldwide, 2 million cases of cancer in 2008 were related to infections or caused by infections. This represents about 16% of all cancers worldwide. Although this estimate is from 2008, the numbers haven’t changed much. The particular infectious agents are viral, bacterial, and parasitic, as is the case with helminth infections. There has been a shift in risk factors for oral and oropharyngeal cancers that dental professionals appreciate, but the public does not. Up until a couple of decades ago, it was unthinkable to talk about a virus that would cause oral cancer or oropharyngeal cancer. But now, we better understand the natural history of HPV in oral and genital mucosa. The epidemiology of oral cancer is gradually switching, from