This study described oropharyngeal cancer incidence, mortality and HPV burden across 29 European countries. Age-standardised rates used public cancer registry data, with trends from 2000 to 2024 estimated as annual percentage change. In 2024 there were 22,063 new cases, a mean incidence of 2.10 per 100,000 (males 3.51, females 0.80). Incidence rose fastest in Ireland, the UK and Denmark, while mortality stayed high in several Eastern European countries. The HPV-attributable fraction was 43.3% overall, from 20.2% in Slovenia to 71.7% in Sweden. HPV fractions came from a literature review, not from testing of the registry cases.
Why it is interesting: Oropharyngeal cancer incidence is still rising across Europe, fastest in Ireland, the UK and Denmark. The HPV share, from 20% in Slovenia to 72% in Sweden, shows how differently its burden falls between countries.
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