Human papillomavirus (HPV) the most common sexually transmitted infection causes one-third of preventable cancers. These include cervical cancer in women penile cancer in men as well as some throat and anal cancers. There are more than 100 varieties of HPV. And over 40 of these are passed through sexual contact and can affect your genitals mouth or throat. A big relief is that there are vaccines that can protect us against certain types of HPV that can lead to cancer or genital warts. The HPV vaccine which is known by the brand name Gardasil 9 protects against HPV types 16