Purpose To better understand oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cancer risk among long-term sexual partners of patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer (HPV-OPC). Patients and Methods An oral rinse sample, risk factor survey, cancer history, and oral examination (partners only) were collected from patients with HPV-OPC and their partners. Oral rinse samples were evaluated for 36 types of HPV DNA using PGMY 09/11 primers and line-blot hybridization and HPV16 copy number using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Oral HPV prevalence was compared with infection among those age 45 to 65 years using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2009-2010. Results A total of 164 patients with HPV-OPC and 93 of their partners were enrolled. Patients were primarily men (90%), were never-smokers (51%), and had performed oral sex (97%), with a median age of 56 years; they had a high prevalence of oncogenic oral HPV DNA (61%) and oral HPV16 DNA (54%) at enrollment. Female partners had comparable oncogenic oral HPV prevalence compared with members of the general population of the same age (1.2% v 1.3%). Among the six male partners, no oncogenic oral HPV infections were detected. No precancers or cancers were identified during partner oral cancer screening examinations. However, a history of cervical disease was reported by nine partners (10.3%) and two female patients (11.8%), and three patients (2.0%) reported a previous partner who developed invasive cervical cancer. Conclusion Oral HPV16 DNA is commonly detected among patients with HPV-OPC at diagnosis, but not among their partners. Partners of patients with HPV-OPC do not seem to have elevated oral HPV infection compared with the general population.

Human papillomavirus type 16 DNA in oral rinses is common at diagnosis but rare after treatment for HPV-OPC. Our data suggest that, although infrequent, persistent HPV16 DNA in posttreatment oral rinses is associated with poor prognosis and is a potential tool for long-term tumor surveillance, perhaps more so for local recurrence.

OBJECTIVES To understand attitudes about and acceptance of anal Pap screening among men who have sex with men (MSM). METHODS 1742 MSM in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) were offered free anal Pap screening (cytology) and reported history of, attitudes about, and experience with anal Pap screening. Predictors of declining screening were explored with multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS A history of ever having anal Pap screening was uncommon among HIV-uninfected MSM, but more common among HIV-infected MSM (10% vs. 39%, p<0.001). Most participants expressed moderate or strong interest in anal Pap screening (86%), no anxiety about screening (66%), and a strong belief in the utility of anal Pap screening (65%). Acceptance of anal Pap screening offered during this study was high (85%) across all four U.S. study sites. Among those screened, most reported it was not a big deal, or not as bad as expected, while 3% reported it was scary. Declining to have anal Pap screening was associated with Black race, anxiety specifically about the screening, and low interest in screening, but not age or HIV status. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated high acceptance of anal Pap screening among both HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected MSM across four U.S. study sites.

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