Prevalence and Determinants of High-Risk Human Papillomavirus Infection in Male Genital Warts

Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence and type distribution of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in genital warts of Korean men, and for the first time, to describe the risk factors associated with high-risk HPV infection in male genital warts. Materials and Methods: In a single private clinic, 150 consecutive male patients with histopathologic-confirmed genital warts who underwent HPV genotyping by use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were included in this study. We detected HPV DNA in male genital warts and evaluated HPV type distribution, especially high-risk HPV types, by use of PCR. The associations between HPV prevalence and various characteristics, such as age, circumcision status, type of genital warts diagnosis (new vs. recurrent), number of lesions, site of lesions, and gross morphology, were assessed by use of unconditional multiple logistic regression. Results: High-risk HPV types were detected in 31 cases (23.5%), and of these, 27 cases (20.5%) contained both high-risk and low-risk HPV types. The most frequently detected high-risk HPV types were HPV16 (6.8%), HPV33 (4.5%), HPV18 (2.3%), and HPV68 (2.3%). In particular, the prevalence of infection with HPV16 and/or HPV18 was 8.3% (11 of 132). In the multivariate analysis, lesions located at sites including the base of the penis or the pubic area, papular or mixed genital warts, and lack of circumcision significantly increased the association with high-risk HPV infection in male genital warts. Conclusions: The prevalence of high-risk HPV infection was substantial in male genital warts. The site and morphology of lesions and circumcision status were significantly associated with the prevalence of high-risk HPV infection.