AUTHOR=Borena Wegene , Kitchen Maria , Gisinger Martin , Taylor Ninon , Oberkofler Hannes , Dewasurendra Diyani , Widschwendter Andreas , Stoiber Heribert , von Laer Dorothee , Sarcletti Mario 

TITLE=Disproportionate preponderance of HPV genotypes associated with anogenital warts among HIV-positive MSM

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1437309

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2024.1437309

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Background: In this study, we characterized the HPV genotype distribution in a population of 489 adults already positive for HPV DNA. Half of the study population (n=244) was HIV positive (HIV+) men who have sex with men (MSM) on routine anal screening for sexually transmitted diseases, whereas the other half (n=245) represented women undergoing routine cervical cancer screening. Acknowledging the fact that women and MSM represent two independent circles of sexual practices, which are -largely -exclusive of each other, we were interested to determine if particular genotypes of human papillomavirus (HPV) disproportionately predominate in one of these circles as compared to the other. Results: HIV+ MSM are significantly more likely to be infected with multiple genotypes at a time (OR (95% CI) = 9.30 (3.91-22.1), p<0.001). Multivariable adjusted logistic regression analysis showed, further, that anal swab samples were significantly more likely to harbor lrHPV infections (OR (95% CI) = 6.67 (2.42-18.4), p<0.001), in particular, HPV 6 (OR (95%CI) = 8.92 (3.84-20.7)) as compared to cervical samples of screening women. Conclusion: Due to the considerable restriction on quality of life following recurrent anogenital warts and the accompanying predisposition to invasive anal cancer, our data adds a case on the indispensability of HPV vaccination of boys and extension of the eligibility way into adulthood among this high-risk population.