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HPV recurrence common in men, linked to high-risk sexual behavior
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The rate of recurrence of genital HPV infection in healthy men — depending on the type — is 20% to 31%, according to researchers. HPV recurrence appears to be influenced by high-risk sexual behavior, they said.
“After initial clearance (12 months without detection of HPV DNA), individuals may be susceptible for recurrence/redetection of HPV infection with the same HPV type,” the researchers wrote in The Journal of Infectious Diseases. “Recurrent HPV infection is an important component of the natural history of these infections and may help to elucidate the reasons for sustained genital HPV prevalence observed across the life span among men in numerous studies.”
In a multinational cohort study, Shitaldas J. Pamnani, MD, an internal medicine physician at Brandon Regional Hospital in Florida, and colleagues assessed 4,123 participants — most aged 18 to 30 years — in the HPV Infection in Men (HIM) study who had available genital DNA samples.
The researchers categorized infections as either incident or prevalent. The study included 635 men with incident infection, 641 men with prevalent infections and 261 men with both an incident and prevalent infection with one of the nine HPV vaccine types.
According to the researchers, 31% of prior prevalent infections and 20% of prior incident infections recurred in men. Among prevalent infections, HPV types 52, 45, 16, 58 and 6 had the highest rates of recurrence. Among incident infections, HPV types 58, 52, 18, 16, and 11 had the highest rates of recurrence.
The researchers also found that new sexual partners — male or female — and the frequency of sexual intercourse with female partners were associated with recurrence of infection with HPV types 6, 16, 31 and 58. Further analysis showed that lifetime and new male sexual partners were both associated with the recurrence of prior incident infection with any of the nine HPV types.
“Recurrence of HPV infection among men is influenced by high-risk sexual behavior, including higher numbers of new sexual partners and lifetime sexual partners,” the researchers wrote. “Future studies are needed to further understand the role of HPV recurrence in the etiology of HPV-associated diseases, and to understand infection recurrence at other anatomic sites where HPV causes cancer.”
Disclosures: Pamnani reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the study for all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.
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