Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at risk for human papillomavirus (HPV) related anal cancer. Few data exist on antibody responses following incident anogenital infection with HPV in teenage MSM. A cohort of 200 MSM aged 16-20 years from Melbourne, Australia were assessed at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months.
At each visit anal and penile swabs were collected for HPV DNA and serum for HPV antibodies for genotypes 6, 11, 16, and 18 (Merck's Multiplex Assays using Luminex). The main outcome, seroconversion, was defined as the detection of HPV antibodies following a negative antibody result for the same HPV type at baseline. The seroincidence rates for HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18 were: 19 (95% CI 12-26), 7 (3-12), 4 (1-8), and 6 (3-11) per 100 person-years respectively. Men who experienced incident anal HPV infections from types 6/11 were significantly more likely to develop serum antibodies to the same HPV type(s) than those who experienced incident anal infections from types 16/18 [73% vs 18%, Odds ratio (OR) = 15, 95% CI: 2 -118]. The median time between incident anal HPV infection and seroconversion for HPV 6, 11, 16, and 18 was: 91, 38, 161 and 182 days respectively. Antibody responses against HPV types 6/11 were significantly more likely to occur following incident anal compared with incident penile infection with HPV types 6/11 (OR=6, 95% CI: 2-21). The likelihood of antibody responses following anogenital HPV infections depends on the HPV type and site of infection. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
International journal of cancer. 2016 Mar 17 [Epub ahead of print]
Huachun Zou, Sepehr N Tabrizi, Andrew E Grulich, Jane S Hocking, Suzanne M Garland, Catriona S Bradshaw, Alyssa M Cornall, Christopher K Fairley, Marcus Y Chen
Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia., Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia., Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia., School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia., Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia., Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health, Melbourne, Australia., Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia., Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health, Melbourne, Australia., Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health, Melbourne, Australia.