Human Papillomavirus Infection in Partners of Women Attending Cervical Cancer Screening: A Pilot Study on Prevalence, Distribution, and Potential Use of Vaccines

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) cross-infection among couple’s partners is a widespread event and could lead to persistent infections. Unfortunately, the influence of male sexual partners of HPV-positive women on their cervical lesions and the potential role of HPV vaccines have been under-investigated. We evaluated the HPV prevalence in male partners of HPV-infected women, focusing on the possible correlation between partners’ cervical lesions and the role of HPV vaccination. Methods: Two samples, genital and urethral swabs, were collected for each of the 90 patients recruited. HPV-DNA detection was carried out by the Allplex HPV28 detection assay. Results: HPV prevalence was 66.7% (60/90); high-risk HPV (hrHPV) genotypes were detected in 90% (54/60) cases and multiple infections in 55% (33/60). The most frequent hrHPVs were HPV31 (p = 0.0265) and HPV52 (p = 0.002), found in 18.3% (11/60) of cases, and HPV53 (p = 0.0116) in 16.7% (10/60). Statistical analysis showed a higher probability of a less severe cytological diagnosis with the increase in the number of genotypes detected (p = 0.0146). Among the HPV-positive partners of females with cervical lesions, 18.7% (6/32) and 62.5% (20/32) had vaccine genotypes of the quadrivalent and nonavalent vaccines, respectively. The nonavalent vaccine showed a significantly higher potential to prevent lesions (62.5% vs. 18.7%, p = 0.0001), with an absolute additional potential impact (AAI) of 31.1% in histological and 32.4% in cytological diagnoses. Conclusions: These preliminary results provide new insight into the correlation between the number of partner genotypes and the severity of cervical lesions and show promising results for the preventive potential of vaccinating male partners.