Use your browser's BACK button to return to your page of origin.
Human papillomavirus prevalence and type distribution in male anogenital sites and semen.
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007; 16(6)gh:1107-1114.
Nielson CM, Flores R, Harris RB, Abrahamsen M, Papenfuss MR, Dunne
EF, Markowitz LE, Giuliano AR.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is sexually transmitted and causes
cervical cancer. Although HPV can infect men and women, little is known about
infection in men. Specifically, the prevalence of type-specific HPV infection
and the distribution of infections by anogenital anatomic site in men are
incompletely characterized. METHODS: We tested 463 men ages 18 to 40 years
for HPV at the glans/corona, penile shaft, scrotum, urethra, perianal area,
anal canal, and in a semen sample. Eligible men acknowledged no history of
genital warts and had sexual intercourse with a woman within the past year.
HPV testing by PCR and reverse line blot genotyping for 37 types was conducted
on each of the specimens from the seven sampling sites. RESULTS: When HPV
results from any sampling site were considered, 237 (51.2%) men were positive
for at least one oncogenic or nononcogenic HPV type, and another 66 (14.3%)
men were positive for an unclassified HPV type. The types with the highest
prevalence were HPV-16 (11.4%) and 84 (10.6%). External genital samples (glans/corona,
shaft, and scrotum) were more likely than anal samples to contain oncogenic
HPV (25.1% versus 5.0%). HPV-positive penile shaft and glans/corona samples
were also more likely to be infected with multiple HPV types than other sites.
CONCLUSIONS: More complete anogenital sampling and sensitive detection for
37 HPV types resulted in a higher HPV prevalence in primarily asymptomatic
men than reported previously. The penile shaft was the site most likely to
be HPV positive and harbored the greatest proportion of multiple type and
oncogenic infections. These results have implications for research of HPV
among men and transmission between partners.