Provisional messages tested in phases 1 and 2 patient interviews, and sources of supporting evidence as described in the draft message evidence matrix
| Messages about human papillomavirus and cancer | Sources of evidence | |||||
| A | B | C | D | E | ||
| 1 | HPV is a very common virus that most sexually active men and women will be exposed to at some point in their life. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 2 | HPV infection is common in both men and women and is often shared between partners. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| 3 | Infection with certain HPV types causes all cervical cancer, almost all anal cancer and can also cause some other cancers such as penile, vulvar, vaginal and head and neck. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| 4 | HPV can usually be cleared by the immune system but occasionally, it stays in the cells of the affected area for several years. This persistent infection causes changes in the cells that may lead to cancer. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 5 | Even if HPV causes cells to change; it can take an average of 10 to 15 years for cancer to develop. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| 6 | You get HPV from having sex or intimate contact with another person. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| 7 | Although it is a good idea to use condoms to protect your sexual health, they do not provide complete protection against HPV. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| 8 | Most people never know they had HPV because there aren’t any symptoms so there is no way of knowing when you got HPV or who you got it from. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| 9 | Having a diagnosis of HPV-related cancer doesn’t mean you or your partner has had sex with someone else. | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| 10 | HPV targets the moist red or pink tissue known as mucous membrane. | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| 11 | Smoking may worsen your prognosis, especially if you continue to smoke after diagnosis. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| 12 | This is a sexually transmitted infection, but unlike other STIs, there is no need to inform previous partners about your HPV status. It’s up to you whether to tell your current partner. | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| 13 | There is no treatment for HPV infection but there’s now a vaccination for people aged 9–26. It’s a good idea for young people to be vaccinated before they become sexually active. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| 14 | HPV can be passed without penetrative sex but it does require intimate physical contact. | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| 15 | HPV can be passed by the hands from one intimate part of the body to another. | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| 16 | About two-thirds of oropharyngeal cancers (which can involve the tonsils, tongue base and soft palate) are caused by HPV. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| 17 | Oral HPV infection can be transmitted by oral sex as well as other forms of close sexual contact. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| 18 | There is some evidence that HPV may be transmitted by ‘deep’ or ‘French’ kissing but there is no evidence of transmission by sharing drinks or kissing on the cheek. | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| 19 | You are likely to have a better outcome if your cancer has been caused by HPV because HPV-driven cancers respond better to treatment than other cancers (for head and neck cancer only). | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| 20 | Nearly all anal cancers are caused by HPV. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| 21 | Anal HPV can be transmitted by anal sex or by hand transmission or intimate skin-to-skin contact. | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| 22 | In women, it is easy for HPV to be transferred between the genital and the anal area. | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| 23 | You can’t get cervical cancer without having HPV first. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| 24 | Nearly half of vulvar and two-thirds of vaginal cancers are caused by HPV. | ✓ | ✓ | |||
A, systematic reviews; B, other published literature; C, qualitative interviews with vaccination-aged girls and parents, and women in the cervical screening programme; D, UK-wide surveys of health professionals and the public; E, telephone interviews with cancer clinicians; HPV, human papillomavirus; STIs, sexually transmitted infections.