Association between human papillomavirus in men and their sexual partners and uterine cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.

OBJECTIVES

To determine whether the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in men is a risk factor in the development of intraepithelial cervical neoplasia in their sexual partners and to corroborate HPV frequency and type.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A case-control study was carried out in the city of Colima, Mexico, from October 2004 to September 2005. It included the male sexual partners of females presenting with intraepitheleal neoplasia and with negative cervical uterine cytology. The study was approved by the local ethics committee, and participants signed a letter of informed consent. Samples were taken from the penis with a cytobrush and were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with type-specific HPV consensus primers. Statistical analysis was carried out using averages, percentages, and chi-square test for association.

RESULTS

Twenty-one patients and 40 controls were analyzed. Eight were excluded due to DNA degradation. Chi-square test was utilized to find association between risk factor (HPV in men) in men whose sexual partners were women with premalignant lesions and normal Papanicolaou test. There was no statistical significance; OR was 2.5, CI was 0.38-16.41, and P = 0.37 (Fisher's exact test). There was no significant difference between the two study groups. Four HPV-positive cases (19%) were obtained from the case group, and two HPV-positive cases (6%) were obtained from the control group. The six positive samples had low-grade virus. There was no association between HPV in men and the cervical intraepitheleal neoplasia of their sexual partners.

CONCLUSIONS

In the present study, HPV in men was not found to be a risk factor in the development of cervical uterine lesions. The viruses that were found were low risk. The sample size employed was not large enough to be able to determine any differences between both study groups.