Persistence and clearance of oral human papillomavirus among a multi-national cohort of men

In response to the growing burden of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer, this study investigated clearance of oral HPV, the obligate precursor, in a longitudinal cohort of men from the US, Brazil, and Mexico. Oral gargles collected every 6 months from the HPV Infection in Men Study were HPV genotyped using SPF₁₀ PCR-DEIA-LiPA₂₅. Oral HPV infection clearance and associated factors were assessed using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards models, respectively. Median follow-up was 44.8 months with 403 and 186 men with an incident and prevalent oral HPV infection, respectively; and lower probability of clearance observed in prevalent infections. Infections were less likely to clear in the presence of increased sexual behaviors; and among prevalent infections, older men were less likely to clear their infection. Here, we report differences in prevalently and incidently detected infections with sexual behavior as a key factor and older age as a potential factor associated with clearance.