Search

Introduction: The genital infection by the human papillomavirus (HPV) can result in a sexually transmitted disease associated with precursor lesions for carcinogenesis in the genital tract. In recent years, evidence was accumulated defining HPV as the etiologic agent of cervical cancer; however, the etiology of penile cancer is still open and lacks studies. This study aims to contribute to the epidemiologic knowledge regarding the prevalence of this virus in malignant lesions of the male genital tract, using the DNA microarray assay, a technique that allows the simultaneous detection of up to 32 different HPV genotypes. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of HPV in penile malignant lesions, to genotype HPV, when present, to correlate the HPV infection and its genotypes with the histopathological data. Methods: A total of 112 penile cancer samples was collected in a cross-sectional study. The detection methodology consisted of (1) detecting the presence of HPV DNA by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique with generic primers, (2) genotyping the HPV using the DNA microarray assay, and (3) correlation of the histopathology, tumor invasiveness, and the dispersion of malignant cells by the lymph nodes with the presence of HPV. Results: The HPV prevalence was 57.1% (64). The most prevalent genotype was the HPV16 (32.8%), followed by HPV6 (23.4%); HPV18, HPV35, and HPV45 (12.5%); HPV31 (10.9%); and HPV70 (7.8%). Of the HPV-positive samples, 25% were mixed infections. Conclusion: The role of the HPV infection was significant within the multifactorial etiology of penile cancer. There was statistical significance between the lesion invasiveness and the presence of high-risk HPV infection. Thus, genotype surveillance can promote a better understanding of the role of HPV genotypes in male cancer development, and the DNA microarray assay proved to be an efficient tool for both the epidemiological study and the diagnostics of the HPV.

Introduction: HPV infection causes cancer at several anatomical sites. However, the infection’s natural history in non-cervical sites is understudied. Objective: To evaluate oral and anogenital HPV infections, correlating HPV prevalence rates and genotypes with site of infection and risk factors. Methods: In the present study, 351 samples from oral, genital, and anal sites of 117 patients were investigated by using PCR MY09/11 detection, followed by genotyping with RFLP. Results: HPV DNA prevalence was 89.7% (105/117) in genital lesions, 53.8% (63/117) in oral samples, and 58.9% (69/117) in anal samples. Regarding the risk factors associated with HPV in genital lesions, statistically significant rates for oral (p=0.039) and anal sex practices (p=0.0000012) were found. For oral samples, a relevant correlation concerning oral contraceptive use (p=0.039), tobacco smoking (p=0.036), and alcohol use (p=0.0075) were observed; whereas in anal samples, higher risk for HPV infection in patients who reported non-exclusive sexual partners (p=0.013) were found. The presence of viral DNA in all the three sites concurrently was observed in 36.8% of the cases (43/117). Among them, 18% (21/117) presented concordant HPV genotypes, diverging from the literature, and thus corroborating that there is still much to learn about HPV natural history, since different biological behaviors are expected within different populations. Differences in anatomy and physiology of the studied sites can determine different prevalence rates of infection by diverse genotypes. Conclusion: Due to the high prevalence of HPV DNA in extragenital sites, further studies are required to define aspects of HPV natural history among different human anatomical sites.

Human papillomavirus infection, a sexually transmitted disease studied mainly in women due to its link to uterine cervical carcinoma, has become a health problem in men also, mainly by the significant increase of the prevalence and incidence of anal intraepithelial neoplasia and anal carcinoma in specific groups, such as men who have sex with men, HIV- seropositive and immunocompromised. The anal carcinoma, as cervical cancer, is associated with highrisk oncogenic HPV in 90% of cases, with HPV 16 as the predominant, followed by HPV 18. This fact occurs in a moment when there are no management protocols for HPV infection in the anal area, either preventive, diagnostic or therapeutic, and without an unique specialty that embraces the problem of HPV anogenital infection in men as does the gynecology for women, causing a dispersion of expertise. Added to this, there are still many doubts in the medical and general population about prophylactic vaccination for HPV in boys, and the absence of its distribution in a public health scale in most countries that still wait for statistical calculations to justify its use.