Oral Cancer–Causing HPV May Be Transmitted Through Oral and Genital Contact
A study investigating the prevalence and risk factors of oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection among young men has found a higher prevalence of oral HPV among men who had female partners with an oral and/or genital HPV infection, suggesting that transmission may occur through oral or genital routes. Prevalence was also significantly higher among smokers, men with a high number of lifetime sex partners, or men in nonmonogamous relationships. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States and is a risk factor for several cancers, including cervical, vaginal, vulvar, oropharyngeal, anal, and penile cancers. The study by Dahlstrom et al is published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
Study Methodology
The researchers collected oral and genital HPV samples from 222 men, 130 of whom had a partner with a genital HPV infection, and their female partners who were participating in the HPV Infection and Transmission Among Couples Through Heterosexual Activity (HITCH) cohort study conducted at McGill University. Study participants completed self-administered computer questionnaires about their sexual and lifestyle history and provided oral and vaginal or penile/scrotal samples. The female participants were between the ages of 18 and 24, and their male partners were at least 18 years old.
The Linear Array HPV genotyping assay was used to detect 36 mucosal HPV genotypes.
Study Findings
The researchers found that the overall prevalence or oral HPV was 7.2% among all men, and 11.5% among men with a genital HPV-positive partner. The prevalence of HPV-16, one of the most common cancer-causing HPV types, was 2.3% among all men, and 6.1% among the 33 men who had partners with a genital HPV-16 infection. Among women, oral HPV prevalence was 3.2%.
Overall, oral HPV prevalence was higher among ever-smokers, men with more than nine lifetime sex partners, men in nonmonogamous relationships, and men who either themselves had a prevalent genital infection or had a partner with either an oral or genital HPV infection. Among the 52 men who had never smoked, were in a monogamous relationship, and had a partner without oral or genital HPV, none had a prevalent infection.
“Understanding how HPV is transmitted is important because it will help us identify who is most at risk for HPV infection and how we can help them protect themselves and their partners,” said Eduardo L. Franco, DrPH, Professor and Director of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology, Chairman of the Department of Oncology at McGill University Faculty of Medicine, in a statement. “Our work provides additional evidence that HPV is sexually transmitted to the oral tract through oral-oral and oral-genital contact.”
Dr. Franco is the corresponding author for the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention article.
The study was funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the National Institutes of Health, and Merck.
Pierre-Paul Tellier, MD, has received speakers’ bureau honoraria from Merck Canada. François Coutlée, MD, FRCP, received speakers’ bureau honoraria from Merck Sharp & Dohme. Dr. Franco is a consultant/advisory board member for Merck and Roche.
The content in this post has not been reviewed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc. (ASCO®) and does not necessarily reflect the ideas and opinions of ASCO®.
