Summary Background Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) cause genital warts and cancers in men. The natural history of HPV infection in men is largely unknown, and that information is needed to inform prevention strategies. The goal in this study was to estimate incidence and clearance of type-specific genital HPV infection in men, and to assess the associated factors. Methods Men (aged 18–70 years), residing in Brazil, Mexico, and the USA, who were HIV negative and reported no history of cancer were recruited from the general population, universities, and organised health-care systems. They were assessed every 6 months for a median follow-up of 27·5 months (18·0–31·2). Specimens from the coronal sulcus, glans penis, shaft, and scrotum were obtained for the assessment of the status of HPV genotypes. Findings In 1159 men, the incidence of a new genital HPV infection was 38·4 per 1000 person months (95% CI 34·3–43·0). Oncogenic HPV infection was significantly associated with having a high number of lifetime female sexual partners (hazard ratio 2·40, 1·38–4·18, for at least 50 partners vs not more than one partner), and number of male anal-sexual partners (2·57, 1·46–4·49, for at least three male partners vs no recent partners). Median duration of HPV infection was 7·52 months (6·80–8·61) for any HPV and 12·19 months (7·16–18·17) for HPV 16. Clearance of oncogenic HPV infection decreased in men with a high number of lifetime female partners (0·49, 0·31–0·76, for at least 50 female partners vs not more than one partner), and in men in Brazil (0·71, 0·56–0·91) and Mexico (0·73, 0·57–0·94) compared with the USA. Clearance of oncogenic HPV was more rapid with increasing age (1·02, 1·01–1·03). Interpretation The data from this study are useful for the development of realistic cost-effectiveness models for male HPV vaccination internationally. Funding National Cancer Institute.

Background: Oral human papillomavirus type-16 (HPV16) infection is a risk factor for oropharyngeal cancer. We examined oral HPV infection among healthy men.Methods: Oral rinse/gargle specimens and questionnaire data were collected from 1,688 healthy men aged 18 to 74 (median ¼ 31 years), from the United States, Mexico, and Brazil. HPV16,18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58 and 59, and noncarcinogenic HPV types were detected using Roche Linear Array.Results: Oral HPV DNA was detected in 67 of 1,680 (4.0%, 95% CI ¼ 3.1%-5.0%) b-globin-positive specimens; carcinogenic HPVs were detected in 1.3% (95% CI ¼ 0.8%-2.0%; n ¼ 22) and HPV16 was the most commonly detected carcinogenic HPV type (0.6%, 95% CI ¼ 0.2%-1.1%; n ¼ 10). The prevalence of oral HPV infection was similar by country except for HPV55, which had notably higher prevalence in Mexico (3.0%) than Brazil (0%) or the United States (0.2%). Oral HPV prevalence nonsignificantly increased over increasing age categories (P trend ¼ 0.096). The strongest predictor of oral HPV was current tobacco use, which increased the odds 2.5-fold (95% CI ¼ 1.4-4.4). Oral sexual behaviors were not associated with oral HPV infection.Conclusions: Oral HPV16 infection was rare in healthy men, especially at younger ages, and was positively associated with current tobacco use.Impact: Oral HPV appears to be about 10-fold less prevalent than infection at genital sites in men (4% vs. $40%, respectively). It remains unclear whether this reflects reduced exposure or if the oral region is more resistant to HPV infection compared with anogenital sites. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 20(1); 172-82. Ó2011

Background. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in men contributes to infection and cervical disease in women as well as to disease in men. This study aimed to determine the optimal anatomic site(s) for HPV detection in heterosexual men.Methods. A cross-sectional study of HPV infection was conducted in 463 men from 2003 to 2006. Urethral, glans penis/coronal sulcus, penile shaft/prepuce, scrotal, perianal, anal canal, semen, and urine samples were obtained. Samples were analyzed for sample adequacy and HPV DNA by polymerase chain reaction and genotyping. To determine the optimal sites for estimating HPV prevalence, site-specific prevalences were calculated and compared with the overall prevalence. Sites and combinations of sites were excluded until a recalculated prevalence was reduced by <5% from the overall prevalence.Results. The overall prevalence of HPV was 65.4%. HPV detection was highest at the penile shaft (49.9% for the full cohort and 47.9% for the subcohort of men with complete sampling), followed by the glans penis/coronal sulcus (35.8% and 32.8%) and scrotum (34.2% and 32.8%). Detection was lowest in urethra (10.1% and 10.2%) and semen (5.3% and 4.8%) samples. Exclusion of urethra, semen, and either perianal, scrotal, or anal samples resulted in a <5% reduction in prevalence.Conclusions. At a minimum, the penile shaft and the glans penis/coronal sulcus should be sampled in heterosexual men. A scrotal, perianal, or anal sample should also be included for optimal HPV detection.

Number of sex partners was associated with anal HPV infection in both MSW and MSM. Anal HPV infection in men may be mediated by age, duration of sexual relationship, and condom use.

Although anal HPV infection is commonly acquired by both MSW and MSM, incident events and persistence occurred more often among MSM. Cigarette smoking is a modifiable risk factor that may contribute to HPV persistence among MSM.

Background While the primary cause of anal cancer is human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in the anal canal, little attention has been paid to the epidemiology of anal HPV in men having sex with women (MSW). Methods Anal canal exfoliated cells from 903 MSW in Brazil (São Paulo), Mexico (Cuernavaca) and the United States (Tampa) were tested for HPV DNA. Results HPV prevalence in the anal canal (12.0%) was similar in MSW in each city (P=0.77) while 7.0% had oncogenic types. Men in Tampa had a four–fold higher prevalence of HPV 16 than men in São Paulo or Cuernavaca (P<0.001). Duration of relationship with a primary sex partner and ever having oral or anal sex with a man was associated with any HPV type and any oncogenic type while lifetime number of female sex partners was associated with any HPV type. Conclusions Anal canal HPV is commonly found in MSW and the prevalence of HPV 16 may differ substantially by geography. Men with a larger number of female sex partners, in a sexual relationship of <1 year duration, and with a history of oral or anal sex with men were most likely to have an anal HPV infection.

In the past few decades, no improvement has been made in the differential diagnosis of thyroid tumors by fine needle aspiration biopsy, specifically suspicious or indeterminate thyroid lesions, suggesting that a new approach to this should be explored. Therefore, in this study, we developed a gene expression approach to diagnose benign versus malignant thyroid lesions in 73 patients with thyroid tumors. We successfully built a 10 and 6 gene model able to differentiate benign versus malignant thyroid tumors. Our results support the premise that a molecular classification system for thyroid tumors is possible, and this in turn may provide a more accurate diagnostic tool for the clinician managing patients with suspicious thyroid lesions.

Background Few human papillomavirus (HPV) serology studies have evaluated type-specific seroprevalence of vaccine HPV types in men. This study investigates seroprevalence of HPV 6, 11, 16, and 18, and associated risk factors in men residing in three countries (United States, Mexico, and Brazil). Methods Data from 1,477 men aged 18 to 70 enrolled in the HPV Infection in Men Study (HIM Study) were analyzed. Serum antibody testing was performed with virus-like particle-based ELISA. Potential risk factors were assessed for individual HPV types by the use of logistic regression. Results Overall, HPV-6, 11, 16, and 18 seroprevalence was 14.8%, 17.3%, 11.2%, and 5.8%, respectively. Thirty-four percent of men were seropositive to one or more HPV types. When examined by sexual practice, 31.2% of men who had sex with women, 65.6% of men who had sex with men (MSM), and 59.4% of men who had sex with both men and women (MSMW) were seropositive to one or more HPV types. Seroprevalence increased with age among young-to-middle-aged men with significant upward age trends observed for HPV 11, 16, and 18. Men with multiple lifetime male anal sex partners were 2 to 4 times more likely to be HPV 6 or 11 seropositive and 3 to 11 times more likely to be HPV 16 or 18 seropositive. Conclusion Our data indicate that exposures to vaccine HPV types were common in men and highly prevalent among MSM and MSMW. Impact Our study provides strong evidence that the practice of same-sex anal intercourse is an independent risk factor for seroprevalence of individual vaccine HPV types. Examination of antibody responses to HPV infections at various anatomic sites in future studies is needed to elaborate on the mechanism.