Incidence and human papillomavirus (HPV) type distribution of genital warts in a multinational cohort of men: the HPV in men study.

BACKGROUND: Data on the natural history of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related genital warts (GWs) in men are sparse. We described the distribution of HPV types in incident GWs and estimated GW incidence and time from type-specific incident HPV infections to GW detection in a multinational cohort of men aged 18-70 years.
METHODS: Participants included 2487 men examined for GWs and tested for HPV every 6 months and followed up for a median of 17.9 months. Samples were taken from 112 men with incident GWs to test for HPV DNA by polymerase chain reaction.
RESULTS: Incidence of GWs was 2.35 cases per 1000 person-years, with highest incidence among men aged 18-30 years (3.43 cases per 1000 person-years). HPV 6 (43.8%), HPV 11 (10.7%), and HPV 16 (9.8%) were the genotypes most commonly detected in GWs. The 24-month cumulative incidence of GWs among men with incident HPV 6/11 infections was 14.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 7.5%-21.1%). Median time to GW detection was 17.1 months (95% CI, 12.4-19.3 months), with shortest time to detection among men with incident infections with HPV 6/11 only (6.2 months; 95% CI, 5.6-24.2 months).
CONCLUSIONS: HPV 6/11 plays an important role in GW development, with the highest incidence and shortest time to detection among men with incident HPV 6/11 infection.