APHON’s core purpose of supporting nurses and their practice with the goal of optimizing
outcomes for children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer and blood disorders mandates
substantial attention to human papillomavirus (HPV) immunization. Pediatric
hematology/oncology nurses dedicate their practice to maximizing health throughout the cancer
trajectory (ie, from initial cancer diagnosis through survivorship) for patients with oncologic
diseases and the continuum of care for patients with blood disorders. Pediatric
hematology/oncology patients may be at increased risk for not receiving crucial adolescent
vaccines compared with the healthy population because their care often is delivered in
subspecialty clinics, where the focus is on disease management, rather than in primary care,
where the focus is on health promotion (Hofstetter, Lappetito, Stockwell, & Rosenthal, 2017).
Cancer prevention strategies are an essential component of education provided by pediatric
hematology/oncology nurses, and immunization against HPV is a necessary preventative
measure.
HPV is an attributable cause of a significant number of cancers, including cervical,
vaginal, vulvar, anal, penile, and oropharyngeal cancers and high-grade dysplasia (Forman et al.,
2012; Torre et al., 2015). Globally, more than 600,000 cases of cancer are attributable to HPV
each year (de Martel, Plummer, Vignat, & Franceschi, 2017). Infection with HPV leads to
significant morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs (Chesson et al., 2012; Crow, 2012; Reagan-
Steiner et al., 2016). HPV vaccines have been developed to target the most common types of
dysplasia and cancers attributable to HPV, have been proven safe and effective, and are
recommended through vaccination policy for males and females during pre- and early
adolescence — prior to sexual contact — to maximize effectiveness (Arbyn, Xu, Simoens, &
Martin-Hirsch, 2018; Castle & Maza, 2015; Drolet et al., 2015; Zhai & Tumban, 2016).
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