The presence of cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) in family members of cancer patients was investigated. An epidemiological questionnaire including family history of cancer and congenital oral cleft malformations was administered to 168 cancer survivors and a population-based sample of 170 healthy subjects. In the control group, 1.2% reported a family member with CL/P; among cancer survivors the figure was 4.2% (odds ratio: 3.7; 95% confidence interval: 0.75–17.8; p = .07). Among cancer survivors with a family member with CL/P, there was an apparent excess of testicular cancer and melanoma in comparison with the cancer survivors with no family history of CL/P. These preliminary results suggest a common etiologic background for cancer and CL/P.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the main risk factor for cervical cancers and is associated with close to 36% of oropharyngeal cancers. There is increasing evidence that oral HPV transmission is related to sexual behavior but to our knowledge studies that involve women who have sex with women have not been performed. We examined the prevalence of oral HPV according to sexual behavior among a population-based sample of 118 women and have made some inferences of possible predictors of oral HPV infection. Women were categorized as heterosexual (history of vaginal sex and/or oral sex with males only, n = 75), bisexual (history of vaginal sex and oral sex with females, n = 32) and other (no history of vaginal sex but oral sex with females [homosexuals], virgins and women with incomplete sexual exposure data, n = 11) The prevalence of oral HPV infection was 12/118 (10.2%) for the overall study population and was not significantly different between heterosexual and bisexual women (10.7% (8/75) vs. 12.5% (4/32), p = 0.784). There was no oral HPV detected among homosexual women, virgins or among women where sexual exposure was unknown. Never smokers were more likely to be oral HPV+ compared to former smokers (Adjusted Odds Ratio (Adj OR) = 0.1, 95% CI, 0.0–1.1) and there was no difference in risk between never smokers and current smokers (Adj OR = 0.7, 95% CI, 0.1–4.6). Twenty-five percent (3/12) of oral HPV+ women had a history of HPV and/or genital warts compared to 9% (10/106) of oral HPV-women (p = 0.104). For the women with a history of vaginal sex (n = 110), oral HPV status was statistically significantly different according to oral sex exposure (p = 0.039). A higher proportion of oral HPV-positive women reported that they had no history of oral sex exposure compared to oral HPV-negative women (4/12, 33% vs. 7/98, 8%). The prevalence of cervical HPV infection did not vary between heterosexuals and bisexuals (35.7% (25/70) vs. 35.5% (11/31), p-value 0.411) and for all other women the cervical HPV prevalence was significantly lower (11.1%, 1/9). Our study suggests that smoking and sexual behavior involving males rather than female partners may be possible predictors of oral HPV infection in women. Further studies with larger sample size are needed to confirm these findings.

Background: The United States (US) Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine with the purpose of reducing the risk of cervical cancers caused by HPV 16 and HPV 18. It is important that the general population be educated about HPV and the HPV vaccine in order to make the appropriate decision whether or not to vaccinate against this virus. Participants from the adult US general population of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA and Hampton, Virginia, USA (18+ years old) were surveyed to determine their knowledge about HPV and the HPV vaccine, and to evaluate their perception of the vaccine efficacy and safety.

Objective. To compare knowledge and attitudes of human papillomavirus (HPV) and the vaccine between different cultures of African descent. Methods. A cross-sectional survey of 555 African-Americans and Afro-Caribbeans residing in the US and the Bahamas (BHM) was conducted. Results. General knowledge about HPV and the HPV vaccine differed between the two countries significantly. Bahamian respondents were less likely to have higher numbers of correct knowledge answers when compared to Americans (Adjusted Odds Ratio [Adj. OR] 0.47, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 0.30–0.75). Older age, regardless of location, was also associated with answering fewer questions correctly (Adj. OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.40–0.92). Attitudes related to HPV vaccination were similar between the US and BHM, but nearly 80% of BHM respondents felt that children should not be able to receive the vaccine without parental consent compared to 57% of American respondents. Conclusions. Grave lack of knowledge, safety and cost concerns, and influence of parental restrictions may negatively impact vaccine uptake among African-American and Afro-Caribbean persons. Interventions to increase the vaccine uptake in the Caribbean must include medical provider and parental involvement. Effective strategies for education and increasing vaccine uptake in BHM are crucial for decreasing cervical cancer burden in the Caribbean.

Background: It has been noted that the African American population in the U.S. bears disproportionately higher cancer morbidity and mortality rates than any racial and ethnic group for most major cancers. Many studies also document that decreased longevity is associated with low educational attainment and other markers of low socioeconomic status (SES), both of which are prevalent in African American communities across the nation. Evidence suggests that this phenomenon may be due to attitudes that reflect a lack of knowledge surrounding facts about cancer awareness and prevention. This study was designed to yield data concerning the general population's attitudes toward cancer, taking into consideration racial and/or socioeconomic differences in the population studied.