Role of HPV vaccination for prevention of male infertility.

Abstract

Infertility is an important health problem affecting about 16% of couples worldwide and male infertility is responsible for about 50% of the cases. Among the causes, sexually transmittable infections (STI) are widely accepted by researchers as etiological factors of male infertility and their incidence is growing. In detail, several reports documented the presence of HPV in semen from infertile patients. In these cases, HPV DNA was bound to the sperm surface and played a role in the infertility by affecting many sperm parameters. Despite a safe and highly effective vaccine is currently available to prevent HPV infection, there are still no effective treatments to completely clear the virus. However, recent studies highlighted that HPV vaccination can be an effective tool to counteract HPV seminal infection even in already infected patients. In fact, it seems able to reduce the viral time to clearance and the relapse of infection in males with persistence of HPV in semen. In this review, we aimed to explore, in a narrative way, currently available literature about HPV infection of male genital tract and the mechanisms by which HPV virions may alter sperm parameters and, therefore, male fertility, both natural and assisted. Moreover, we aimed to report and discuss the most recent evidence about the role of HPV vaccine administration as a therapeutic tool in males with persistent HPV seminal infection.