Diagnosis and Prevalence of High-Risk Human Papillomavirus Infection in Heterosexual Men

Abstract

A better understanding of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in men is an essen‐ tial component of prevention programs aimed to reduce cervical cancer and other HPVrelated diseases. A screening test capable of detecting asymptomatic/subclinical genital HPV infection in men at a reasonable price and causing minimal discomfort to the patient would be very valuable. The following chapter focuses on acetowhite test usefulness in the detection of asymptomatic/subclinical genital high-risk (HR) HPV infection in highrisk men populations, HR-HPV prevalence in sexually active healthy male partners of women diagnosed of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and genotypespecific concordance between partners, addressing the preventive strategies that would reduce HPV infection in men. We present data from 125 men, sexual partners of women with preneoplastic cervical lesions. Prevalence of HR-HPV infection in male was high (50, 24% HPV16) and genotype concordance within the 60 infected couples was remarkable (62% shared at least one genotype). Acetowhite (AW) test was positive in 27% patients, showing low sensitivity for the identification of HR-HPV infection but allowed the diagnosis of subclinical HPV-related lesions in more than 10%. Current smoking and genital warts were associated with an increased risk of HR-HPV infection in men (OR: 2.4 and 5.6, respectively).