Abstract
Background: Homosexual men or men who have sex with men (MSM) are at increased risk of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection because of their high-risk sexual behaviors. In this large study, a meta-analytic approach was used to systematically analyze the literature to elucidate the prevalence and genotype distribution of anal, penile, oral, and urethral HPV infection among MSM in the world.Methods: To carry out this systematic review, five electronic databases were searched for relevant studies published from January 2012 through to November 2019, and pertinent data were collected from the eligible articles. The pooled HPV prevalences were calculated for each anatomical region using random-effect model weighted by the inverse variance method. Subgroup analyses were performed to identify the probable sources of heterogeneity. The meta-analysis was performed using the “Metaprop” function in the R package Meta.Results: The overall pooled prevalence of anal, penile, oral, and urethral HPV infection among MSM were 78.11 % (95% CI: 75.50%-80.52%), 36.26% (95% CI: 29.13%–44.05%), 17.33% (95% CI: 13.65%–21.75%), and 15.40% (95% CI: 7.86%–27.97%), respectively. Stratified analyses showed that the prevalences of HPV were significantly higher in HIV-positive than HIV-negative MSM. The most frequent HPV high-risk type detected in the anus, penis, and oral cavity was HPV-16 (20.32%, 4.96%, and 3.16%, respectively). Conclusion: HPV infection is on the dramatic rise in MSM because of high-risk sexual behaviors, strongly suggesting the increased risk of developing HPV-related diseases and malignancies in this population. Among different sexual orientations, male homosexuality is associated with the highest risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections.
p16INK4a is superior to high-risk human papillomavirus testing in cervical cytology for the prediction of underlying high-grade dysplasia
