Cervical, oral and anal Human papillomavirus infection in women attending the Dermatology Unit of a regional reference hospital in Genoa, Italy: a prevalence study.

Abstract

Between January 2016 and December 2018, the female patients attending the STI center (cases) and those requiring a full body skin examination for skin cancer screening ("supposed" healthy population: controls) were recruited. Cervical/anal/oral samples were collected with ThinPrep liquid based cytology preparation system: polymerase chain reaction for HPV and cytological evaluation were performed. Overall, 85 cases and 31 controls were recruited. Cervical HPV infection was detected in 60% of the cases and 48% of the controls; anal HPV infection in 44% of the cases and 26% of the controls. Cervical and anal HPV infection resulted associated, especially in the control group. Moreover, 32% of the cases and 29% of the controls proved HPV positive in the oral cavity. In the cases of our series, prevalence of cervical, anal and oral HPV infection was higher compared with the controls. The high prevalence of anal-oral infections and the frequent association between anal and cervical infections, provide reason to suggest HPV screening also in the anal and oral regions, which may represent HPV reservoirs and grounds for cancer development.