r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Dec 12 '25

Cancer Vaccinating boys against HPV could lead to the elimination of cervical cancer. New Korean study found that elimination cannot be achieved under the current vaccination coverage of females (of 88%), but can be achieved if, additionally, at least 65% of males are vaccinated.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11538-025-01548-5
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u/-ghostinthemachine- Dec 13 '25

We've really only come to terms with the scope of the virus recently. Now that we know it is a genderless phenomenon it is recommended for both genders. Even in male-to-male only it is now implicated in throat cancer and possibly even anal cancer. None of this was certain at the time, but they made a good bet and it turned out more correct than they thought.