Introduction

To assess the contemporary knowledge of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and its association with penile cancer in a nationwide cohort from the US.

Methods

We utilized the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), a cross-sectional telephone survey performed in the US initiated by the National Cancer Institute. The most recent iteration, HINTS 4 Cycle 4, was conducted in mail format between August 19 and November 17, 2014. Primary endpoints included knowledge of HPV and its causal relationship to penile cancer. Baseline characteristics included sex, age, education, race & ethnicity, income, residency, personal or family history of cancer, health insurance status, and internet use. Multivariable logistic regression assessed predictors of HPV and penile cancer knowledge.

Results

An unweighted sample of 3,376 respondents was extracted from the HINTS 4, Cycle 4. Whereas 64.4% of respondents had heard of HPV, only 29.5% of these were aware that it could cause penile cancer. Men were significantly less likely to have heard of HPV than women (OR 0.32 95% CI 0.24-0.43). Older age; African-American, Asian, and "other race"; being married; from a lower education bracket; having a personal cancer history; and those without internet access were significantly less likely to have heard of HPV. None of our examined variables were independent predictors for the knowledge of the association of penile cancer and HPV.

Conclusions

Our analysis of a large, nationally representative survey demonstrates that the majority of the American public is familiar with HPV but lack a meaningful understanding between this virus and penile cancer. Primary care providers and specialists should be encouraged to intensify counseling about this significant association as a primary preventive measure of this potentially fatal disease.

Funding

none