Oral and Oropharyngeal HPV prevalence in South Africa A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Prevalence data for HPV infection in the head and neck in Southern African populations is lacking. In addition to cervical cancer, this sexually transmitted oncogenic virus is responsible for a subset of head and neck cancer and is transmitted via oral sexual routes, and through other forms of intimate contact between anatomical sites lined by mucosa. This systematic review and meta-analyses aimed to synthesize data for the prevalence of head and neck HPV infection in South Africa. Original research papers from South Africa reporting on the prevalence of HPV in the head and neck was systematically reviewed using PubMed, Ovid Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Library. A meta-analysis on the prevalence data wasconducted for 16 papers that met the inclusion criteria.