DT News - UK - Study shows HPV infection rates lower than expected

Dental Tribune UK

Tue. 21 August 2018

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SHEFFIELD, UK: The Department of Health and Social Care’s recent confirmation of the extension of the vaccination programme against the human papillomavirus (HPV) to cover adolescent boys has placed HPV firmly in the headlines. A recently published study has found that rates of high-risk HPV oral infection, a condition that can lead to throat cancer, are lower than expected in England.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Sheffield and funded by the World Cancer Research Fund UK, surveyed 700 men and women about certain lifestyle choices and measured the rate of oral infection with high-risk HPV. Oral HPV infection was found in 2.2 per cent of the participants. This rate was lower than that in previous Scottish and US-based studies, which had both found a 3.7 per cent rate of oral HPV infection.

According to the findings of the England study, former smokers were significantly more likely to test positive for high-risk HPV than those who had never smoked. In addition, participants with more than six sexual partners in their lifetimes were also significantly more likely to be positive for high-risk HPV than those with fewer sexual partners.

The research also found that 0.7 per cent of the participants were positive for HPV Type 16 or 18, which are both covered by the aforementioned vaccination programme. Both of these types are known to significantly increase the risk of cervical, genital and throat cancers.

Co-author of the study Dr Vanessa Hearnden, from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield, said: “We fully support the newly announced HPV vaccination programme for boys, which will reduce the risk of HPV-related cancers, including throat cancer in men, and will also provide further prevention of cervical cancers through herd immunity,” she continued.

“However, we found the majority of individuals testing positive for high-risk strains of HPV were actually positive for strains other than those covered by the current vaccine—HPV 16 and HPV 18. This shows the need to consider newer vaccines which protect against more HPV strains in the future and for individuals to be aware of lifestyle risk factors such as number of sexual partners and tobacco use,” Hearnden explained.

Co-author of the study Dr Craig Murdoch, from the university’s School of Clinical Dentistry, said: “Many people associate the HPV virus with cervical cancer, but there is less recognition of the fact that HPV causes oropharyngeal cancer, and unfortunately, the prevalence of this cancer has increased dramatically in the past few years.”

“The Sheffield Head and Neck Oncology Research Team are conducting research into HPV-related oral cancer in order to find better ways to treat this disease and improve quality of life,” he added.

The study, titled “Oral human papillomavirus infection in England and associated risk factors: A case–control study”, was published online in BMJ Open on 19 August 2018.

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