Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

A Prospective Longitudinal Study of Dynamic of Human Papillomavirus 6 and 11 Infection in Anogenital Hairs and Eyebrows of Male Patients with Anogenital Warts and Age-Matched Controls

Vesna Tlaker
,
Lea Hošnjak
ORCID logo ,
Mateja Kolenc
,
Tomaž Mark Zorec
ORCID logo ,
Boštjan Luzar
,
Marko Potočnik
,
Jovan Miljković
,
Katja Seme
ORCID logo ,
Mario Poljak
* ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 15 February 2024 / Approved: 15 February 2024 / Online: 15 February 2024 (15:44:37 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Tlaker, V.; Hošnjak, L.; Kolenc, M.; Zorec, T.M.; Luzar, B.; Potočnik, M.; Miljković, J.; Seme, K.; Poljak, M. Prospective Longitudinal Study of Dynamics of Human Papillomavirus 6 and 11 Infection in Anogenital Hairs and Eyebrows of Male Patients with Anogenital Warts and Age-Matched Controls. Microorganisms 2024, 12, 466. Tlaker, V.; Hošnjak, L.; Kolenc, M.; Zorec, T.M.; Luzar, B.; Potočnik, M.; Miljković, J.; Seme, K.; Poljak, M. Prospective Longitudinal Study of Dynamics of Human Papillomavirus 6 and 11 Infection in Anogenital Hairs and Eyebrows of Male Patients with Anogenital Warts and Age-Matched Controls. Microorganisms 2024, 12, 466.

Abstract

To better understand anogenital warts (AGW) natural history and dynamic of HPV6/11 infection in regional hairs, 32 newly diagnosed AGW male patients and 32 age-matched healthy controls were closely followed. During enrollment and six follow-up visits (every 2.6 months) 43 AGW tissue and 1,232 anogenital and eyebrow hair samples were collected. This represents the closest longitudinal monitoring of AGW patients to date. Patients were treated according to standard-of-care. HPV6/11 prevalence was 19.9% in patients’ hair samples (HPV6 B1 in 87.5%) and 0% in controls. The highest HPV6/11 prevalence was found in pubic hairs (29.0%) and lowest in eyebrows (7.1%). Odds for HPV6/11-positive hairs increased with smoking, shaving anogenital region and age. A close association between HPV6/11 presence in hairs and clinically visible AGW was observed. The proportion of patients with visible AGW and HPV6/11-positive hairs declined during follow-up with similar trends. No particular HPV6/11 variant was linked with increased AGW recurrence, but sublineage HPV6 B1 showed significantly higher clearance from hairs. Despite treatment, 78.1% and 62.5% of AGW patients experienced one and two/more post-initial AGW episodes, respectively. Patients having HPV6/11-positive hairs or visible AGW at preceding visit demonstrated substantially higher odds for presenting with visible AGW in subsequent visit.

Keywords

human papillomavirus; HPV; HPV6; HPV11; genetic variants; anogenital warts; persistence; recurrence; prospective study

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Dermatology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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