Vaccinating young men against HPV reduces their risk of HPV-related cancers by almost half, a retrospective cohort study suggests.

Japanese researchers have used a US-heavy global database to compare 510,260 males aged 9-26 who had received at least one dose of the 9-valent HPV vaccine with propensity score-matched unvaccinated males.

Australian authorities recommend all adolescents and young adults aged 9-25 get vaccinated against HPV, with boys included in the recommendation since 2013.

The study found the incidence of head and neck, penile, oesophageal and anal cancers — which can be caused by HPV — was 46% lower in vaccinated men compared with the unvaccinated men.