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Human papillomavirus

Guest Editors

Johannes Antonie Bogaards, PhD, Amsterdam University Medical Center, The Netherlands
Julia Brotherton, B Med(Hons), MPH(Hons), Grad Dip App Epi, FAFPHM, PhD, The University of Melbourne, Australia
Ashish A. Deshmukh, PhD, MPH, Medical University of South Carolina, USA
Claire Nightingale, PhD, MSc, BSc(Hons), The University of Melbourne, Australia
Kalyani Sonawane, PhD, Medical University of South Carolina, USA


BMC Medicine called for submissions to our Collection on Human Papillomavirus (HPV). This Collection seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of the diverse facets of HPV research, such as its epidemiology, the latest advancements in diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, and efforts to increase vaccination uptake worldwide.


New Content ItemThis Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being.

Meet the Guest Editors

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Johannes Antonie Bogaards, PhD, Amsterdam University Medical Center, The Netherlands

Dr J A (Hans) Bogaards is a senior associate in the Department of Epidemiology & Data Science at Amsterdam UMC. For more than 15 years he has studied the epidemiology of HPV-related diseases, ranging from the natural history of infection to viral dynamics after prophylactic vaccination and HPV-based screening for cervical cancer. He has worked at the National Institute for Public Health and has been part of several EU-funded consortia (CoheaHr, PreHdict, RISCC). His current research focuses on risk-based policies to efficiently manage the influx of HPV-vaccinated women into cervical cancer screening programs.

Julia Brotherton, B Med(Hons), MPH(Hons), Grad Dip App Epi, FAFPHM, PhD, The University of Melbourne, Australia

Dr Julia Brotherton is a public health physician, epidemiologist, and Professor of Cancer Prevention Policy and Implementation at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne. She is also a Professorial Fellow at the National Centre for Immunization Research and Surveillance, Sydney, Australia. For over 15 years, Julia has been involved in research and policy development informing the implementation and evaluation of HPV vaccination and cervical screening programs.

Ashish A Deshmukh, PhD, MPH, Medical University of South Carolina, USA

Dr Ashish A Deshmukh is an associate professor of public health sciences and co-leader of the Cancer Control Program at the Hollings Cancer Center of the Medical University of South Carolina. He is a cancer population scientist whose research on human papillomavirus infection and associated cancers lies at the intersection of cancer epidemiology, health economics, and decision science. Particularly, he focuses on quantifying infection and associated cancer risk and evolving epidemiology and guiding the development and implementation of risk-targeted, sustainable, and optimal (cost-effective) primary (HPV vaccination) and secondary (screening and follow-up) preventive interventions using data-driven disease (mathematical) simulation models. At MUSC and Hollings Cancer Center, he leads an active mentoring program in HPV and associated cancer epidemiology, decision science, and simulation modeling, having mentored over 20 graduate students, postdoctoral trainees, and junior faculty members.

Claire Nightingale, PhD, MSc, BSc(Hons), The University of Melbourne, Australia

Dr Claire Nightingale is an implementation researcher with two decades of experience in global health, health systems and evaluation. Claire has worked in Papua New Guinea, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Australia on programs aiming to improve access to new diagnostics and models of care that may improve access and health outcomes. Claire currently leads a program of work focused on improving equity in Australia’s cervical screening program.

Kalyani Sonawane, PhD, Medical University of South Carolina, USA

Dr Kalyani Sonawane’s research focuses on analyzing high-dimensional healthcare data to study cancer prevention and treatment strategies, and to evaluate their downstream impact on population health outcomes. Her primary interest is in examining the landscape of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and HPV-associated cancer in the United States, particularly understanding the epidemiology of HPV-associated cancers, barriers to HPV vaccination, and the prevention and treatment of HPV-associated cancers among marginalized groups. 

About the Collection

BMC Medicine called for submissions to our Collection on Human Papillomavirus (HPV).

HPV remains an important global concern, with a significant number of people becoming infected at some point in their lifetime. These infections can have far-reaching implications for public health, as they are responsible for a range of health issues, including cervical, oropharyngeal, and anogenital cancers. It is estimated that HPV infections cause about 5% of all cancers worldwide, with about 625,600 women and 69,400 men getting HPV-related cancer each year.

The availability of highly effective vaccines has the potential to significantly reduce the burden of HPV-associated diseases. There remains a need to scale up HPV vaccination and screening and support their accessibility and acceptability globally, especially in middle-income and low-income countries where the burden of cervical cancer is greatest. This Collection seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of the diverse facets of HPV research, such as its epidemiology, the latest advancements in diagnostic, screening, and therapeutic strategies, and their implementation in efforts to increase vaccination, screening and treatment access and uptake worldwide. We welcomed a wide exploration of topics related to HPV, including but not limited to:

Epidemiology and public health: Delve into the epidemiological aspects of HPV, its prevalence, and its impact on public health.

HPV vaccination and immunology: Shed light on the development and efficacy of HPV vaccines, as well as studies exploring the immunological responses to HPV infection and vaccination including single dose vaccination.

Genetics and molecular biology: Focus on the genetic and molecular aspects of HPV, including its interactions with host cells, viral gene expression, and potential therapeutic targets.

Clinical research and diagnostics: Submissions in this area may include studies on HPV-associated diseases, clinical trials, and advancements in diagnostic methods, such as molecular testing and biomarker discovery.

Therapeutic strategies: Explore therapeutic strategies for HPV-related conditions, including both established and emerging treatments, as well as innovative approaches to HPV management.

Screening: Latest developments and approaches to screening to detect and treat precursor lesions to prevent cervical cancer (including self collection) and to potentially develop screening programs to prevent anal and oropharyngeal cancers.

Psychosocial and ethical considerations: Examine the psychosocial impact of HPV and the ethical issues surrounding HPV vaccination, screening, and treatment.

Elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem: Implementation and policy research supporting the scale up of HPV vaccination, screening, and treatment as per the WHO Strategy for the acceleration of the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem.

All manuscripts submitted to this journal, including those submitted to collections and special issues, are assessed in line with our editorial policies and the journal’s peer review process. Reviewers and editors are required to declare competing interests and can be excluded from the peer review process if a competing interest exists.

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being

  1. Cervical cancer (CC), primarily caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, remains a significant global health concern. We aimed to comprehensively investigate the epidemiological status of HPV in China.

    Authors: Sirui Han, Mengyue Lin, Mengyu Liu, Shiwan Wu, Pi Guo, Jiubiao Guo, Longxu Xie, Song Qiu, Aijuan Xu, Yingmu Cai and Yequn Chen
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2025 23:158
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and osteoporosis (OP) are global health concerns, with higher prevalence observed in women compared to men. However, the impact of HPV infection on bone health remains unce...

    Authors: Xiang Li, Guangjun Jiao and Yunzhen Chen
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2025 23:75
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Cervical cancer is a significant health issue, especially in low- and middle-income countries like India, where it ranks fourth among women. The Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, a vital preventive measu...

    Authors: Soni Chauhan, Surya Kant Tiwari, Vishal Dubey, Pragya Tripathi, Priyanka Pandey, Anuj Singh and Narendra Pal Singh Choudhary
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2025 23:35
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is prevalent among people who are sexually active. This study aimed to compare the levels of behavioral intention to receive free clinician-collected and self-collected sam...

    Authors: Zixin Wang, Siyu Chen, Ngai Sze Wong, Annie Wai-Ling Cheung, Zoe Pui-Yee Tam, Sze Long Chung, Denise Pui-Chung Chan, Phoenix K. H. Mo and Eliza Lai-Yi Wong
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2024 22:569
    Content type: Research Published on:

  7. Mothers play a crucial role in influencing their daughters’ HPV vaccination decisions. Addressing barriers to receiving HPV vaccination among mothers of girls may achieve two goals in one strike: increasing va...

    Authors: Zian Lin, Siyu Chen, Lixian Su, Yuxue Liao, Hongbiao Chen, Zhiqing Hu, Zhuolin Chen, Yuan Fang, Xue Liang, Jianan Chen, Biyun Luo, Chuanan Wu and Zixin Wang
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2024 22:328
    Content type: Research Published on:

Submission Guidelines

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BMC Medicine encourages submissions of front matter articles and original research, including clinical trials (phase I-III, randomized-controlled, either positive or negative trials), epidemiological studies (retrospective or prospective), systematic reviews and meta-analyses, -omics, medical imaging, genomics studies and biomarkers research. Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure you have read our submission guidelines.

Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection; please select "Human papillomavirus" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.