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This study determined the prevalence and risk factors for genital human papillomavirus (HPV) detection among men who deny ever engaging in penetrative sex. A questionnaire was administered to 4123 men from a cohort study of HPV natural history. Genital exfoliated cells were collected and genotyped for 36 HPV types. Eighty-eight men were classified as virgins. Log-binomial regression models identified factors associated with genital HPV detection. The prevalence of any and high-risk HPV types among 88 male virgins was 25.0% and 18.2%, respectively. Age and smoking status were associated with HPV detection. Further studies are needed to better understand the risk for HPV infection among male virgins.

The incidence of genital warts has been increasing in many western countries since the 1970s [1]. Sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, usually with types 6 or 11, causes these condylomas, which incur significant morbid effects and substantial economic costs [2, 3]. In addition, genital HPV-16 infection is a major cause of penile squamous cell carcinoma, which, though rare, has either a declining, stable, or increasing incidence in recent decades, depending on country [4–6]. Like cervical cancer, the incidence of penile carcinoma is higher in developing than in developed countries [7]. The burden of some HPV-associated anogenital diseases, but not all, is higher among men having sex with men (MSM) than among men having sex with women (MSW). For example, the incidence of anal cancer, almost all of which is caused by HPV, is many times higher in MSM than in MSW [8]. On the other hand, genital condylomas may have a similar prevalence among these populations [9]. Although anogenital HPV infection is thought to be the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI), there are few published data comparing genital HPV infection among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–negative MSM and MSW [10, 11]; however, there is a substantial amount of data from the US STI surveillance system indicating that MSM are more likely than MSW to report a prior diagnosis of certain STIs, such as HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, human herpesvirus, and hepatitis B [12]. The prevalence of HPV infection in the anal canal is much higher in MSM than in MSW [13], but studies of genital HPV prevalence comparing MSM and MSW have found little difference or even a higher prevalence of genital HPV among MSW than among MSM [10, 14]. Among HIV-infected men, the prevalence of genital HPV is also higher in MSW than in MSM [15]. To our knowledge, however, no prospective studies have examined the incidence and clearance of genital HPV among HIV-negative MSW and MSM. Our objective was to estimate and compare the incidence of genital HPV infections and the duration of incident infections among HIV-negative MSM and MSW. We also examined the incidence of HPV in MSM stratified into men having sex only with men (MSOM) and men having sex with both women and men (MSWM).

Background. Data on the natural history of human papillomavirus (HPV)–related genital warts (GWs) in men are sparse. We described the distribution of HPV types in incident GWs and estimated GW incidence and time from type-specific incident HPV infections to GW detection in a multinational cohort of men aged 18–70 years. Methods. Participants included 2487 men examined for GWs and tested for HPV every 6 months and followed up for a median of 17.9 months. Samples were taken from 112 men with incident GWs to test for HPV DNA by polymerase chain reaction. Results. Incidence of GWs was 2.35 cases per 1000 person-years, with highest incidence among men aged 18–30 years (3.43 cases per 1000 person-years). HPV 6 (43.8%), HPV 11 (10.7%), and HPV 16 (9.8%) were the genotypes most commonly detected in GWs. The 24-month cumulative incidence of GWs among men with incident HPV 6/11 infections was 14.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 7.5%–21.1%). Median time to GW detection was 17.1 months (95% CI, 12.4–19.3 months), with shortest time to detection among men with incident infections with HPV 6/11 only (6.2 months; 95% CI, 5.6–24.2 months). Conclusions. HPV 6/11 plays an important role in GW development, with the highest incidence and shortest time to detection among men with incident HPV 6/11 infection.

Anal cancer is the result of infection with an oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) type, followed by the development of high-grade anal intraepithelial neoplasia and then invasive cancer. A likely crucial step in anal cancer carcinogenesis is the establishment of a persistent oncogenic HPV infection in anal canal epithelium [1]. Although the annual incidence of anal cancer is rare among men in general (∼1 in 100 000) [2], it is considerably higher among men who have sex with men (MSM), among whom incidence was estimated to be as high as 36 per 100 000 before the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic [3, 4]; however, the difference in prevalence of anal canal HPV among MSM and men who have sex with women (MSW) is modest. For example, our cross-sectional studies among HIV-negative men indicate that anal HPV infection is common among MSW: among 1305 MSW, approximately 12% harbored HPV in the anal canal compared with 47% of MSM (including bisexual men) [5]. Thus, whereas prevalence of anal HPV is approximately 4 times higher among MSM, anal cancer incidence among HIV-negative MSM may be approximately 35 times greater. No literature has explained this considerable difference in anal cancer incidence in the context of these populations’ relatively modest difference in anal HPV prevalence. Likewise, there are no published data on behavioral factors associated with anal HPV persistence among HIV-negative MSM and MSW. The identification of modifiable risk factors for anal HPV persistence may be important for anal cancer interventions. Our primary objective was to estimate and compare the incidence and persistence of anal HPV among MSM and MSW. We hypothesized that anal HPV infection was transient among MSW and more persistent among MSM. Our second objective was to assess factors associated with anal HPV persistence.