A Preventable Cancer Crisis We Can't Ignore

June 2025

By: Jason Semprini, PhD, Des Moines University Department of Public Health

HPV is incredibly common – most adults will encounter it in their lifetime. While often harmless, HPV can cause devastating cancers, including cervical and head and neck cancers. The good news? We have a powerful tool: the HPV vaccination.

Despite the preventive power of vaccination, HPV cancers are on the rise, particularly hitting rural communities. Research continues to show a worrying trend: a growing gap in HPV cancer rates between rural and urban areas. While urban rates have been relatively stable in men and declining in women, rural incidence is climbing.

This isn't just about rural-urban differences. People living in poorer rural areas often face later diagnoses and treatment delays than rural people living in more affluent areas. Furthermore, racial and ethnic minority groups, particularly Black and Indigenous People of Color residing in high-poverty rural areas, often experience the highest rates of these preventable cancers. 

Why do we observe such disparity between and within rural communities? Uneven uptake of the HPV vaccine has been a major factor, with rural vaccine rates lagging behind. The risk of HPV cancer increases in people who smoke cigarettes, a behavior which remains higher in rural and less affluent areas than the rest of the United States.  

We cannot stand by while preventable cancers disproportionately harm our rural neighbors, families, and friends. The rising rates and widening disparities are an urgent call to action. We must intensify efforts to:

1. Increase HPV vaccination rates in rural children and adolescents, especially those at high risk of developing HPV cancers later in life.  
2. Reduce cigarette smoking prevalence in adults, primarily through effective prevention policies and smoking cessation programs.

Because we can prevent HPV we can prevent HPV cancers. Whether we realize this potential in our lifetime, our children’s lifetime, or for future generations, this will be up to us and the actions we take today.  

Jason Semprini, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at Des Moines University. He earned his PhD in Health Services Research from the University of Iowa College of Public Health. Following his doctorate degree, Semprini completed one year of postdoctoral training in the Department of Epidemiology and Iowa Cancer Registry at the University of Iowa College of Public Health. Previously, Semprini was a Susan G. Komen Cancer Disparities Scholar at the University of Chicago, where he earned his master’s in public policy. A lifelong Iowan, Semprini is passionate about disseminating policy-relevant evidence to improve rural health outcomes in Iowa and beyond.