The risk of head and neck cancer can be reduced by quitting smoking and giving up alcohol, but this does not guarantee that the person is protected from cancer. Elimination of risk factors also helps prevent disease recurrence in patients treated for cancer. A new primary cancer develops in about 5% of patients/year. Current vaccines against HPV target some of the HPV strains that cause oropharyngeal cancer, so that childhood vaccination, as currently recommended, could reduce the incidence of these cancers.