The epidemiology of oral hpv infection among a multinational sample of healthy men

Abstract

Background: Oral human papillomavirus type-16 (HPV16) infection is a risk factor for oropharyngeal cancer. We examined oral HPV infection among healthy men. Methods: Oral rinse/gargle specimens and questionnaire data were collected from 1,688 healthy men aged 18 to 74 (median = 31 years), from the United States, Mexico, and Brazil. HPV16,18,31,33,35,39,45,51,52,56, 58 and 59, and noncarcinogenic HPV types were detected using Roche Linear Array. Results: Oral HPV DNA was detected in 67 of 1,680 (4.0%, 95% CI = 3.1%-5.0%) β-globin-positive specimens; carcinogenic HPVs were detected in 1.3% (95% CI = 0.8%-2.0%; n = 22) and HPV16 was the most commonly detected carcinogenic HPV type (0.6%, 95% CI = 0.2%-1.1%; n = 10). The prevalence of oral HPV infection was similar by country except for HPV55, which had notably higher prevalence in Mexico (3.0%) than Brazil (0%) or the United States (0.2%). Oral HPV prevalence nonsignificantly increased over increasing age categories (P trend = 0.096). The strongest predictor of oral HPV was current tobacco use, which increased the odds 2.5-fold (95% CI = 1.4-4.4). Oral sexual behaviors were not associated with oral HPV infection. Conclusions: Oral HPV16 infection was rare in healthy men, especially at younger ages, and was positively associated with current tobacco use. ©2011 American Association for Cancer Research.