HPV World (HPW) is an educational project from the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) on Human papillomavirus and related cancers.

In 2018, The World Health Organization (WHO) called for a massive campaign to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem in the world within the century. Cervical cancer is the dominant cancer induced by HPV, though not the only one: HPV can also cause a fraction of cancers of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus, as well as head and neck cancers. The strategy defined by the WHO includes the recommendation that 90% of girls receive HPV vaccination by the age of 15, 70% of women receive HPV screening at the ages of 35 and 45, and in 90% of cases, both for pre-neoplastic and neoplastic incident cases, patients have access to adequate treatment including palliative care (Figure 1).

To achieve such a high level of participation of the community into a public health intervention program, it is necessary to create a state of opinion favourable to the proposal at all levels. Globally, society has indeed approved and accepted this proposal: over 50% of the countries in the world have already introduced HPV vaccination into their routine immunization programs (Figure 2), and are slowly transitioning from cytology-based to HPV-based screening programs. But the strongest determinant in the individuals’ decision is the advice and the recommendation of their health care provider. HPW is specifically addressed to the professional education of the HPV health care provider, with the hope that this knowledge will be transferred to the general population in the best possible way.



As of May 2024 HPW is followed by approximately 100,000 readers, has published over 260 articles with the collaboration of more than 340 authors, and its website has received more than 2 million visits worldwide (Figure 3). North America and Europe are the areas in which HPW has most of its influence.

Plans are currently developing to address issues and needs in other parts of the world: specifically, the HPW project will expand through the following three lines:

• Support of cervical cancer elimination campaigns locally, by publishing materials about the countries that have decided to introduce both HPV screening and HPV vaccination.
• Translation of the HPW library of published materials, in order to reach HPV professionals locally in their working language.
• Generation of podcasts from selected HPW articles, which will facilitate access to HPW published materials.

Several scientific institutions have endorsed the quality of HPW project, including the International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS), the HPV Prevention and Control Board, the HPV Information Centre, the educational programme E-Oncología, the European School of Oncology (ESO), EUROGIN, AOGIN, ESGO, UICC and the Pediatric Association in Spain. The HPV World educational project is endorsed by the following medical and scientific organizations:



HPW is especially grateful to the numerous HPV stakeholders who have generously provided unrestricted educational grants, supporting our project for over two decades. Their commitment not only sustains our ongoing initiatives but also fosters a strategic partnership that drives advancements in HPV research and education.



Overall, in spite of the proven value of HPV vaccines, only 15% of the girls and 4% of the boys in the world are currently HPV vaccinated. In spite of progress in HPV-based screening technology, two out of three women in the world have never benefited from a screening event. HPW is one more push towards cervical cancer elimination.

Would you like to participate in the HPW project? Visit the HPW website, subscribe to the HPW Newsletter, share the HPW library with your colleagues, listen to HPW podcasts in Spotify and Youtube, and contribute to HPW with new articles by sending your proposal here.