Journal of Vaccine Research, 2025, Vol.15, No.1, 23-33 http://medscipublisher.com/index.php/jvr 23 Feature Review Open Access HPV-Associated Oral Cancer: Case Reports and Implications for Vaccination Strategies Jianbang Chen Huahai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Taizhou, 317099, Zhejiang, China Corresponding email: chejb@qq.com Journal of Vaccine Research, 2025, Vol.15, No.1 doi: 10.5376/jvr.2025.15.0003 Received: 03 Dec., 2024 Accepted: 10 Jan., 2025 Published: 25 Jan., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Chen, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Chen J.B., 2025, HPV-associated oral cancer: case reports and implications for vaccination strategies, Journal of Vaccine Research, 15(1): 23-33 (doi: 10.5376/jvr.2025.15.0003) Abstract This study explores the achievements of existing case reports and clinical research to explain the biological principles by which HPV causes cancer, the main trends of its onset, and the differences between oral cancer caused by HPV infection and that caused by HPV infection. High-risk viruses like HPV-16 are the key factors leading to oral tissue carcinogenesis. Many patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage and the treatment effect is not good. This also shows the importance of early detection and prevention of this type of cancer. The current HPV vaccine can effectively prevent high-risk types of viruses and has also been confirmed to reduce the infection rate of HPV in the oral cavity. However, the current situation of vaccination is not optimistic, especially among men and the elderly, who have received relatively fewer vaccinations. This study suggests expanding the scope of vaccination by integrating it with public health education and cancer screening, while exploring the role of therapeutic vaccines. Only by taking comprehensive measures such as early vaccination, enabling more people to be vaccinated, and conducting multi-disciplinary cooperation can the harm caused by HPV-related oral cancer be mitigated. Keywords HPV-associated oral cancer; High-risk HPV (HPV-16, HPV-18); Vaccination strategy; Case reports; Oral squamous cell carcinoma 1 Introduction Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been confirmed to cause a variety of human cancers, such as cervical cancer, vulvar cancer, vaginal cancer, penile cancer, anal cancer, and head and neck cancer (Nielsen et al., 2021). In the United States, HPV is a common cause of oropharyngeal cancer and is also associated with the occurrence of oral squamous cell carcinoma (Sathish et al., 2014; Zhou et al., 2021). High-risk types of HPV, especially HPV-16 and HPV-18, often cause cells in these areas to transform into cancer cells. In recent decades, the number of patients with oral cancer and oropharyngeal cancer caused by HPV has been increasing, especially in high-income countries, and this situation is more prominent among men under the age of 50 (Gillison, 2008). In the United States and some parts of Europe, the proportion of patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma infected with HPV has risen from less than 20% to over 70% within 20 years (Sathish et al., 2014). Such a trend indicates that the influence of HPV in the causes of oral cancer is increasing, and also reflects that we urgently need to find useful ways to prevent and control this type of cancer (Kaczmarczyk and Yusuf, 2021; Zhou et al., 2021). This study will analyze the actual cases of HPV-related oral cancer and also explore the role of vaccination strategies. This study aims to integrate the actual clinical situation with the latest research achievements to provide references for future cancer prevention work and offer guidance for the formulation of public health policies, thereby reducing the harm caused by HPV-related oral malignancies. 2 HPV Biology and Tumorigenesis 2.1 High-risk and low-risk HPV types: focus on HPV-16 and HPV-18 Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a large category of DNA viruses, and more than 200 types have been discovered so far. Based on the possibility of causing cancer, these viruses are roughly divided into low-risk and high-risk types. Low-risk HPV types, such as 6 and 11, mainly cause benign diseases like warts. High-risk types, especially
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