Introduction: The oncogenic human papillomaviruses (HPV) types 16 and 18 contribute to more than 73% cases of all HPV-related cancers and commonly affect the anogenital and head and neck region, with rapidly rising incidence rates of HPV-related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OPSCC). HPV vaccination has the potential to decrease the burden of HPV-related disease but vaccination rates remain low in many countries. We investigated the level of awareness of HPV, and HPV-OPSCC in particular, in a representative sample of the German population. Materials and Methods: As part of an online, population-based survey, an electronic questionnaire was administered to a representative sample of 1095 adult individuals with a specific emphasis on awareness of HPV, transmission, as well as indicator symptoms of oropharyngeal cancer. Statistical analysis of levels of awareness and relation of these to age, gender and socioeconomic background were conducted using the IBM SPSS Statistics Version 25.0. Results: 699/1095 (63.8%) subjects had never heard of HPV. Of the subjects with awareness for HPV, 210 knew that HPV could be transmitted during sex (58.3%) and 138 recognized HPV as a risk factor for OPSCC (14.2%), unrelated to gender (p=0.357), educational status (p=0.581) or family status (p=0.719). 416 subjects knew that a preventive vaccine against HPV existed (44.9%). Women were significantly more aware of HPV (34.2% vs 22.8%, p

The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel