HPV-linked throat cancer on the rise among Korean men

Korea Herald

29-07-2025

Throat cancers linked to the human papillomavirus are on the rise among South Korean men, according to a local expert on Tuesday.
Park Jun-wook, a head and neck cancer specialist at the Catholic University of Korea's Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, said the rising trend underscores the importance of raising awareness about HPV-related cancers and the need for vaccination among men.
HPV is widely known as the leading cause of cervical cancer, and in Korea, the HPV vaccine has traditionally been considered a vaccine for women.
However, in recent years, medical experts have warned that HPV can also cause oropharyngeal cancer, a type of cancer that affects the upper part of the throat, especially in men. Oral sex with an HPV-infected partner has been widely considered a major route of transmission.
Recent data further supports the need for men to get vaccinated.
According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, genital warts, primarily caused by HPV, were most commonly found among men in their 20s and 30s in 2023.
That year, there were 14,146 male cases in their 20s and 19,719 in their 30s. This was approximately 4.4 times higher than the number of cases among women in the same age groups, which were 5,418 and 2,324, respectively.
HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer is also on the rise.
A 2023 report by the Korean Society of Otorhinolaryngology found that 487 men were diagnosed with HPV-caused tonsil cancer in 2019, a 2.6-fold increase from 187 cases in 2002.
Park also warned that these cancers can be difficult to detect early, as symptoms often are not immediately apparent.
'Head and neck cancers can be silent early on. If you notice a sore in your mouth that doesn't heal or a lump in your neck, you should seek medical attention promptly,' he said.
Early detection is critical to improving survival rates. According to Park, the five-year survival rate for advanced cases ranges from 50 to 60 percent, but rises to over 80 percent when the cancer is caught early.