Reasons for refusal of the human papillomavirus vaccine among young cancer survivors

Background Cancer survivors are at risk for developing subsequent human papillomavirus (HPV)–related malignancies. HPV vaccination rates among survivors remain low, and the reasons for refusal of the vaccine are unclear in this population. Methods The authors conducted a secondary analysis of data from an open‐label clinical trial evaluating the immunogenicity and safety of the HPV vaccine among vaccine‐naive cancer survivors who were 9–26 years old and 1–5 years from the completion of their cancer treatment. Survivors/parents who declined trial participation were asked their reasons for declining. Refusal reasons were categorized, and multivariable logistic regression models were developed to identify associations between survivor characteristics and primary refusal reasons. Results Among the 301 survivors who refused participation in the clinical trial, 215 (71.4%) refused for reasons related to the HPV vaccine. Reasons for vaccine‐related refusal included safety concerns, vaccine hesitancy/disinterest, external influences, vaccine‐related information deficits, and health beliefs/family decisional processes. Compared with males, females were more likely to refuse for reasons related to health beliefs/family decisional processes (odds ratio [OR], 2.08; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12–3.93; p = .022) and were less likely to do so because of external influences (OR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.19–0.92; p = .035). Survivors approached about participation during the latter years of the trial were more likely to refuse because of safety concerns (OR, 3.33; 95% CI, 1.55–7.69; p = .003). Conclusions Cancer survivors refused participation in an open‐label trial evaluating the immunogenicity and safety of the HPV vaccine primarily because of vaccine‐related concerns that were unrelated to the research study. Many of these concerns are potentially addressable by health care providers using evidence‐based messages tailored to the cancer survivor population. Reasons for the refusal of the human papillomavirus vaccine among young cancer survivors include safety concerns, vaccine hesitancy/disinterest, external influences, vaccine‐related information deficits, and health beliefs/family decisional processes. Many of these concerns are potentially actionable and can be addressed by health care providers using evidence‐based messages tailored to enhance the relevancy to the cancer survivor population.