HPV16 E7 Genetic Conservation Is Critical to Carcinogenesis.

Although most cervical human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) infections become undetectable within 1-2 years, persistent HPV16 causes half of all cervical cancers. We used a novel HPV whole-genome sequencing technique to evaluate an exceptionally large collection of 5,570 HPV16-infected case-control samples to determine whether viral genetic variation influences risk of cervical precancer and cancer. We observed thousands of unique HPV16 genomes; very few women shared the identical HPV16 sequence, which should stimulate a careful re-evaluation of the clinical implications of HPV mutation rates, transmission, clearance, and persistence. In case-control analyses, HPV16 in the controls had significantly more amino acid changing variants throughout the genome. Strikingly, E7 was devoid of variants in precancers/cancers compared to higher levels in the controls; we confirmed this in cancers from around the world. Strict conservation of the 98 amino acids of E7, which disrupts Rb function, is critical for HPV16 carcinogenesis, presenting a highly specific target for etiologic and therapeutic research.

Trends in incidence rates of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas overall and by potential relatedness to human papillomavirus, Costa Rica 2006 to 2015.

In Costa Rica (CR), only one report on head and neck cancer (HNC) incidence trends (1985-2007) has been published and no investigations on the epidemiology of potentially human papillomavirus (HPV)-related and HPV-unrelated HNCs have been done. We examined the age-standardized incidence rates (IRs) and trends of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) and compared incidence trends of potentially HPV-related and HPV-unrelated HNSCCs. We obtained all available HNC cases for the period 2006-2015 from the Costa Rican National Cancer Registry of Tumors and the population estimates from the Costa Rican National Institute of Statistics and Census. The analysis was restricted to invasive HNSCCs (n = 1577). IRs and incidence rate ratios were calculated using SEER*Stat software and were age-standardized for the 2010 Costa Rican population. Joinpoint regression analysis program was used to calculate trends and annual percent changes (APCs) in rates. For all HNSCCs, the age-standardized IR was 34.0/million person-years; 95% CI 32.4, 35.8. There was a significant decline in the incidence of nasopharyngeal cancer (APC: -5.9% per year; 95% CI -10.8, -0.7) and laryngeal cancer (APC: -5.4% per year; -9.2, 1.5). The incidence trends for hypopharyngeal, oropharyngeal and oral cavity cancers each remained stable over time. HNSCCs were categorized by their potential relatedness to HPV infection. Though the APCs were not statistically significant, IRs of potentially HPV-related HNSCCs trended upward, while HPV-unrelated HNSCCs trended downward. HNSCCs are uncommon in CR and decreased over time. We observed a divergent pattern of decreasing HPV-unrelated with increasing HPV-related HNSCCs that should be further informed by HPV genotyping tumor samples.

Prevalencia y determinantes de la infección por virus de papiloma humano en mujeres jóvenes de Guanacaste y Puntarenas, Costa Rica, 2004-2005.

OBJETIVO: Estimar la prevalencia e identificar determinantes de la infección por el virus del papiloma humano (VPH) en mujeres jóvenes (18-25 años). Material y métodos. Se analizaron datos de 5 871 mujeres sexualmente activas a quienes se les realizó una entrevista y toma de muestras cervicouterinas para detección de VPH y citología durante la visita de reclutamiento del Ensayo de Vacunación contra VPH16/18 en Costa Rica. Se calculó la prevalencia total para cualquier tipo de VPH y tipos oncogénicos, no oncogénicos y específicos, con intervalos de confianza al 95% (IC95%). Se utilizó regresión logística múltiple paso-a-paso para identificar determinantes asociados con la infección. RESULTADOS: La prevalencia total de VPH fue 50.0% (IC95% 48.8,51.3) y por tipos oncogénicos fue 33.8% (IC95% 32.6,35.0). El VPH-16 fue el tipo más prevalente (8.3%, IC95% 7.6,9.0). Los determinantes asociados con un alto riesgo de infección prevalente por VPH oncogénicos fueron no estar casada/unión libre, >1 compañero sexual, infección concomitante por Chlamydia trachomatis, y entre aquéllas con un único compañero sexual en su vida, un compañero con antecedente de múltiples compañeras sexuales. Conclusión. Se confirma la asociación de las infecciones por VPH oncogénicos con el comportamiento sexual de la mujer y se destacan los comportamientos del compañero sexual.

Precancerous cervical lesions caused by non-vaccine-preventable HPV types after vaccination with the bivalent AS04-adjuvanted HPV vaccine: an analysis of the long-term follow-up study from the randomised Costa Rica HPV Vaccine Trial.

BACKGROUND: In women vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV), reductions in cervical disease and related procedures results in more women having intact transformation zones, potentially increasing the risk of cervical lesions caused by non-vaccine-preventable HPV types, a phenomenon termed clinical unmasking. We aimed to evaluate HPV vaccine efficacy against cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 or worse (CIN3+) attributed to non-preventable HPV types in the long-term follow-up phase of the Costa Rica HPV Vaccine Trial (CVT). METHODS: CVT was a randomised, double-blind, community-based trial done in Costa Rica. Eligible participants were women aged 18-25 years who were in general good health. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive an HPV 16 and 18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine or control hepatitis A vaccine, using a blocked randomisation method (permuted block sizes of 14, 16, and 18). Vaccines in both groups were administered intramuscularly with 0·5 mL doses at 0, 1, and 6 months. Masking of vaccine allocation was maintained throughout the 4-year randomised trial phase, after which participants in the hepatitis A virus vaccine control group were provided the HPV vaccine and exited the study; a screening-only, unvaccinated control group was enrolled. The unvaccinated control group and HPV vaccine group were followed up for 7 years, during which treatment allocation was not masked. One of the prespecified primary endpoints for the long-term follow-up phase was precancers associated with HPV types not prevented by the vaccine, defined as histologically confirmed incident CIN2+ events or CIN3+ events attributed to any HPV type except HPV 16, 18, 31, 33, and 45. Our primary analytical period was years 7-11. Primary analyses were in all participants with at least one follow-up visit and excluded participants with a previous endpoint (ie, modified intention-to-treat cohort). Safety endpoints have been reported elsewhere. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00128661 and NCT00867464. The randomised, masked trial phase is completed; an unmasked subset of women in the HPV-vaccinated group is under active investigation. FINDINGS: Between June 28, 2004, and Dec 21, 2005, 7466 participants were enrolled (HPV vaccine group n=3727 and hepatitis A virus vaccine control group n=3739). Between March 30, 2009, and July 5, 2012, 2836 women enrolled in the new unvaccinated control group. The primary analytical cohort (years 7 to 11) included 2767 participants in the HPV vaccine group and 2563 in the unvaccinated group for the CIN2+ events endpoint assessment and 2826 participants in the HPV vaccine group and 2592 in the unvaccinated control group for the CIN3+ events endpoint assessment. Median follow-up during years 7 to 11 for women included for the CIN2+ events analysis was 52·8 months (IQR 44·0 to 60·7) for the HPV vaccine group and 49·8 months (42·0 to 56·9) for the unvaccinated control group. During years 7 to 11, clinical unmasking was observed with a negative vaccine efficacy against CIN2+ events attributed to non-preventable HPV types (-71·2% [95% CI -164·0 to -12·5]), with 9·2 (95% CI 2·1 to 15·6) additional CIN2+ events attributed to non-preventable HPV types per 1000 HPV-vaccinated participants versus HPV-unvaccinated participants. 27·0 (95% CI 14·2 to 39·9) fewer CIN2+ events irrespective of HPV type per 1000 vaccinated participants were observed during 11 years of follow-up. Vaccine efficacy against CIN3+ events attributed to non-preventable HPV types during years 7 to 11 was -135·0% (95% CI -329·8 to -33·5), with 8·3 (3·0 to 12·8) additional CIN3+ events attributed to non-preventable HPV types per 1000 vaccinated participants versus unvaccinated participants. INTERPRETATION: Higher rates of CIN2+ events and CIN3+ events due to non-preventable HPV types in vaccinated versus unvaccinated participants suggests clinical unmasking could attenuate long-term reductions in high-grade disease following successful implementation of HPV vaccination programmes in screened populations. Importantly, the net benefit of vaccination remains considerable; therefore, HPV vaccination should still be prioritised as primary prevention for cervical cancer. FUNDING: National Cancer Institute and National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women's Health. TRANSLATION: For the Spanish translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Different human papillomavirus types share early natural history transitions in immunocompetent women.

Necessary stages of cervical carcinogenesis include acquisition of a carcinogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) type, persistence associated with the development of precancerous lesions, and invasion. Using prospective data from immunocompetent women in the Guanacaste HPV Natural History Study (NHS), the ASCUS-LSIL Triage Study (ALTS) and the Costa Rica HPV Vaccine Trial (CVT), we compared the early natural history of HPV types to inform transition probabilities for health decision models. We excluded women with evidence of high-grade cervical abnormalities at any point during follow-up and restricted the analysis to incident infections in all women and prevalent infections in young women (aged <30 years). We used survival approaches accounting for interval-censoring to estimate the time to clearance distribution for 20 529 HPV infections (64% were incident and 51% were carcinogenic). Time to clearance was similar across HPV types and risk classes (HPV16, HPV18/45, HPV31/33/35/52/58, HPV 39/51/56/59 and noncarcinogenic HPV types); and by age group (18-29, 30-44 and 45-54 years), among carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic infections. Similar time to clearance across HPV types suggests that relative prevalence can predict relative incidence. We confirmed that there was a uniform linear association between incident and prevalent infections for all HPV types within each study cohort. In the absence of progression to precancer, we observed similar time to clearance for incident infections across HPV types and risk classes. A singular clearance function for incident HPV infections has important implications for the refinement of microsimulation models used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of novel prevention technologies.

Analysis of cervical HPV infections among unvaccinated young adult women to inform vaccine strategies in this age group: the Costa Rica HPV Vaccine Trial.

INTRODUCTION: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines protect against incident HPV infections, which cause cervical cancer. OBJECTIVES: We estimated the prevalence and incidence of HPV infections in young adult women to understand the impact of an HPV vaccination programme in this population. METHODS: We collected cervical specimens from 6322 unvaccinated women, aged 18-37 years, who participated in the Costa Rica Vaccine Trial and its long-term follow-up. Women were followed for (median) 4.8 years and had (median) 4.0 study visits. Cervical specimens were tested for the presence/absence of 25 HPV genotypes. For each age band, we estimated the percentage of women with 1+ prevalent or 1+ incident HPV infections using generalised estimating equations. We also estimated the prevalence and incidence of HPV as a function of time since first sexual intercourse (FSI). RESULTS: The model estimated HPV incident infections peaked at 28.0% (95% CI 25.3% to 30.9%) at age 20 years then steadily declined to 11.8% (95% CI 7.6% to 17.8%) at age 37 years. Incident oncogenic HPV infections (HPV16/18/31/33/35/39/45/51/52/56/58/59) peaked and then declined from 20.3% (95% CI 17.9% to 22.9%) to 7.7% (95% CI 4.4% to 13.1%); HPV16/18 declined from 6.4% (95% CI 5.1% to 8.1%) to 1.1% (95% CI 0.33% to 3.6%) and HPV31/33/45/52/58 declined from 11.0% (95% CI 9.3% to 13.1%) to 4.5% (95% CI 2.2% to 8.9%) over the same ages. The percentage of women with 1+ incident HPV of any, oncogenic, non-oncogenic and vaccine-preventable (HPV16/18, HPV31/33/45, HPV31/33/45/52/58, and HPV6/11) types peaked <1 year after FSI and steadily declined with increasing time since FSI (p for trends <0.001). We observed similar patterns for model estimated HPV prevalences. CONCLUSION: Young adult women may benefit from HPV vaccination if newly acquired vaccine-preventable oncogenic infections lead to cervical precancer and cancer. HPV vaccination targeting this population may provide additional opportunities for primary prevention. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT00128661.

Association Between Common Vaginal Infections and Cervical Non-Human Papillomavirus (HPV) 16/18 Infection in HPV-Vaccinated Women.

BACKGROUND: How vaginal infections such as bacterial vaginosis, Candida spp, and Trichomonas vaginalis affect persistence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is not well established. Our study aimed to evaluate the association between common vaginal infections and cervical non-HPV16/18 infection, as risk factors associated with persistence of nonvaccine HPV types will become increasingly relevant in the setting of HPV vaccination. METHODS: We performed an analysis in 2039 AS04-HPV16/18-vaccinated women enrolled in a phase II/III trial in China, who were HPV DNA negative at month 0 and 6 and had at least 1 subsequent follow-up visit. Vaginal infections were detected in liquid-based cytology according to the diagnostic criteria of the Bethesda System. Associations between vaginal infections and incident and 6-month persistent non-HPV16/18 infections in the cervix were evaluated using generalized estimating equations, adjusting for the age at initial vaccination, as well as HPV types in the persistence analysis. RESULTS: Study visits with any vaginal infection had a statistically significant increased risk of incident non-HPV16/18 infection compared to those without vaginal infections (odds ratio [OR], 1.44 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.09-1.92]). However, vaginal infections were not associated with 6-month persistent non-HPV16/18 infection (OR, 1.02 [95% CI, .62-1.69]). CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that common vaginal infections are not associated with persistence of non-HPV16/18 infection among HPV16/18-vaccinated women.

Efficacy of AS04-Adjuvanted Vaccine Against Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Types 16 and 18 in Clearing Incident HPV Infections: Pooled Analysis of Data From the Costa Rica Vaccine Trial and the PATRICIA Study.

Clinical trial data and real-world evidence suggest that the AS04-adjuvanted vaccine targeting human papillomavirus types 16 and 18 (AS04-HPV-16/18) vaccine provides nearly 90% protection against cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 or higher irrespective of type, among women vaccinated before sexual debut. This high efficacy is not fully explained by cross-protection. Although AS04-HPV-16/18 vaccination does not affect clearance of prevalent infections, it may accelerate clearance of newly acquired infections. We pooled data from 2 large-scale randomized controlled trials to evaluate efficacy of the AS04-HPV-16/18 vaccine against clearance of nontargeted incident infections. Results of our analysis do not suggest an effect in expediting clearance of incident infections.

Risk Factors for Non-Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Type 16/18 Cervical Infections and Associated Lesions Among HPV DNA-Negative Women Vaccinated Against HPV-16/18 in the Costa Rica Vaccine Trial.

BACKGROUND: Factors that lead human papillomavirus (HPV) infections to persist and progress to cancer are not fully understood. We evaluated co-factors for acquisition, persistence, and progression of non-HPV-16/18 infections among HPV-vaccinated women. METHODS: We analyzed 2153 women aged 18-25 years randomized to the HPV-vaccine arm of the Costa Rica HPV Vaccine Trial. Women were HPV DNA negative for all types at baseline and followed for approximately 11 years. Generalized estimating equation methods were used to account for correlated observations. Time-dependent factors evaluated were age, sexual behavior, marital status, hormonally related factors, number of full-term pregnancies (FTPs), smoking behavior, and baseline body mass index. RESULTS: A total of 1777 incident oncogenic non-HPV-16/18 infections were detected in 12 292 visits (average, 0.14 infections/visit). Age and sexual behavior-related variables were associated with oncogenic non-HPV-16/18 acquisition. Twenty-six percent of incident infections persisted for ≥1 year. None of the factors evaluated were statistically associated with persistence of oncogenic non-HPV-16/18 infections. Risk of progression to Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia grade 2 or worst (CIN2+) increased with increasing age (P for trend = .001), injectable contraceptive use (relative risk, 2.61 [95% confidence interval, 1.19-5.73] ever vs never), and increasing FTPs (P for trend = .034). CONCLUSIONS: In a cohort of HPV-16/18-vaccinated women, age and sexual behavior variables are associated with acquisition of oncogenic non-HPV-16/18 infections; no notable factors are associated with persistence of acquired infections; and age, parity, and hormonally related exposures are associated with progression to CIN2+.

Efficacy of the bivalent HPV vaccine against HPV 16/18-associated precancer: long-term follow-up results from the Costa Rica Vaccine Trial.

BACKGROUND: Oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) infections cause most cases of cervical cancer. Here, we report long-term follow-up results for the Costa Rica Vaccine Trial (publicly funded and initiated before licensure of the HPV vaccines), with the aim of assessing the efficacy of the bivalent HPV vaccine for preventing HPV 16/18-associated cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+). METHODS: Women aged 18-25 years were enrolled in a randomised, double-blind, controlled trial in Costa Rica, between June 28, 2004, and Dec 21, 2005, designed to assess the efficacy of a bivalent vaccine for the prevention of infection with HPV 16/18 and associated precancerous lesions at the cervix. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive an HPV 16/18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine or control hepatitis A vaccine. Vaccines were administered intramuscularly in three 0·5 mL doses at 0, 1, and 6 months and participants were followed up annually for 4 years. After the blinded phase, women in the HPV vaccine group were invited to enrol in the long-term follow-up study, which extended follow-up for 7 additional years. The control group received HPV vaccine and was replaced with a new unvaccinated control group. Women were followed up every 2 years until year 11. Investigators and patients were aware of treatment allocation for the follow-up phase. At each visit, clinicians collected cervical cells from sexually active women for cytology and HPV testing. Women with abnormal cytology were referred to colposcopy, biopsy, and treatment as needed. Women with negative results at the last screening visit (year 11) exited the long-term follow-up study. The analytical cohort for vaccine efficacy included women who were HPV 16/18 DNA-negative at vaccination. The primary outcome of this analysis was defined as histopathologically confirmed CIN2+ or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 or worse associated with HPV 16/18 cervical infection detected at colposcopy referral. We calculated vaccine efficacy by year and cumulatively. This long-term follow-up study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00867464. FINDINGS: 7466 women were enrolled in the Costa Rica Vaccine Trial; 3727 received the HPV vaccine and 3739 received the control vaccine. Between March 30, 2009, and July 5, 2012, 2635 women in the HPV vaccine group and 2836 women in the new unvaccinated control group were enrolled in the long-term follow-up study. 2635 women in the HPV vaccine group and 2677 women in the control group were included in the analysis cohort for years 0-4, and 2073 women from the HPV vaccine group and 2530 women from the new unvaccinated control group were included in the analysis cohort for years 7-11. Median follow-up time for the HPV group was 11·1 years (IQR 9·1-11·7), 4·6 years (4·3-5·3) for the original control group, and 6·2 years (5·5-6·9) for the new unvaccinated control group. At year 11, vaccine efficacy against incident HPV 16/18-associated CIN2+ was 100% (95% CI 89·2-100·0); 34 (1·5%) of 2233 unvaccinated women had a CIN2+ outcome compared with none of 1913 women in the HPV group. Cumulative vaccine efficacy against HPV 16/18-associated CIN2+ over the 11-year period was 97·4% (95% CI 88·0-99·6). Similar protection was observed against HPV 16/18-associated CIN3-specifically at year 11, vaccine efficacy was 100% (95% CI 78·8-100·0) and cumulative vaccine efficacy was 94·9% (73·7-99·4). During the long-term follow-up, no serious adverse events occurred that were deemed related to the HPV vaccine. The most common grade 3 or worse serious adverse events were pregnancy, puerperium, and perinatal conditions (in 255 [10%] of 2530 women in the unvaccinated control group and 201 [10%] of 2073 women in the HPV vaccine group). Four women in the unvaccinated control group and three in the HPV vaccine group died; no deaths were deemed to be related to the HPV vaccine. INTERPRETATION: The bivalent HPV vaccine has high efficacy against HPV 16/18-associated precancer for more than a decade after initial vaccination, supporting the notion that invasive cervical cancer is preventable. FUNDING: US National Cancer Institute.

Evaluation of TypeSeq, a Novel High-Throughput, Low-Cost, Next-Generation Sequencing-Based Assay for Detection of 51 Human Papillomavirus Genotypes.

BACKGROUND: Human papillomaviruses (HPV) cause over 500 000 cervical cancers each year, most of which occur in low-resource settings. Human papillomavirus genotyping is important to study natural history and vaccine efficacy. We evaluated TypeSeq, a novel, next-generation, sequencing-based assay that detects 51 HPV genotypes, in 2 large international epidemiologic studies. METHODS: TypeSeq was evaluated in 2804 cervical specimens from the Study to Understand Cervical Cancer Endpoints and Early Determinants (SUCCEED) and in 2357 specimens from the Costa Rica Vaccine Trial (CVT). Positive agreement and risks of precancer for individual genotypes were calculated for TypeSeq in comparison to Linear Array (SUCCEED). In CVT, positive agreement and vaccine efficacy were calculated for TypeSeq and SPF10-LiPA. RESULTS: We observed high overall and positive agreement for most genotypes between TypeSeq and Linear Array in SUCCEED and SPF10-LiPA in CVT. There was no significant difference in risk of precancer between TypeSeq and Linear Array in SUCCEED or in estimates of vaccine efficacy between TypeSeq and SPF10-LiPA in CVT. CONCLUSIONS: The agreement of TypeSeq with Linear Array and SPF10-LiPA, 2 well established standards for HPV genotyping, demonstrates its high accuracy. TypeSeq provides high-throughput, affordable HPV genotyping for world-wide studies of cervical precancer risk and of HPV vaccine efficacy.

Human papillomavirus 16 E6 antibodies are sensitive for human papillomavirus-driven oropharyngeal cancer and are associated with recurrence.

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16) E6 antibodies may be an early marker of the diagnosis and recurrence of human papillomavirus-driven oropharyngeal cancer (HPV-OPC). METHODS: This study identified 161 incident oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) cases diagnosed at the University of Pittsburgh (2003-2013) with pretreatment serum. One hundred twelve had preexisting clinical HPV testing with p16 immunohistochemistry and HPV in situ hybridization (87 were dual-positive [HPV-OPC], and 25 were dual-negative [HPV-negative]); 62 had at least 1 posttreatment serum sample. Eighty-six of the 161 tumors were available for additional HPV16 DNA/RNA testing (45 were dual-positive [HPV16-OPC], and 19 were dual-negative [HPV16-negative). HPV16 E6 antibody testing was conducted with multiplex serology. The following were evaluated: 1) the sensitivity and specificity of HPV16 E6 serology for distinguishing HPV-OPC and HPV16-OPC from HPV-negative OPC, 2) HPV16 E6 antibody decay after treatment with linear models accommodating correlations in variance estimates, and 3) pre- and posttreatment HPV16 E6 levels and the risk of recurrence with Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: Seventy-eight of 87 HPV-OPCs were HPV16 E6-seropositive (sensitivity, 89.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 81.3%-95.2%), and 24 of 25 HPV-negative OPCs were HPV16 E6-seronegative (specificity, 96.0%; 95% CI, 79.6%-99.9%). Forty-two of 45 HPV16-OPCs were HPV16 E6-seropositive (sensitivity, 93.3%; 95% CI, 81.7%-98.6%), and 18 of 19 HPV16-negative OPCs were HPV16 E6-seronegative (specificity, 94.7%; 95% CI, 74.0%-99.9%). Posttreatment HPV16 E6 antibody levels did not decrease significantly from the baseline (P = .575; median follow-up, 307 days) and were not associated with the risk of recurrence. However, pretreatment HPV16 E6 seropositivity was associated with an 86% reduced risk of local/regional recurrence (hazard ratio, 0.14; 95% CI, 0.03-0.68; P = .015). CONCLUSIONS: HPV16 E6 antibodies may have potential clinical utility for the diagnosis and/or prognosis of HPV-OPC. Cancer 2017;123:4382-90. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

The Natural History of Oral Human Papillomavirus in Young Costa Rican Women.

BACKGROUND: Oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and related oropharyngeal cancer are uncommon in lower-income countries, particularly compared to HPV-associated cervical cancer. However, little is known about the natural history of oral HPV in less-developed settings and how it compares to the natural history of cervical HPV. METHODS: Three hundred fifty women aged 22 to 33 years from the Costa Rica Vaccine Trial provided exfoliated cells from the cervical and oral regions at 2 visits 2 years apart. Samples from both visits were tested for 25 characterized α HPV types by the SPF10 PCR-DNA enzyme immunoassay-LiPA25 version 1 system. Risk factors for oral HPV persistence were calculated utilizing generalized estimating equations with a logistic link. RESULTS: Among the 82 women with characterized α oral HPV DNA detected at baseline, 14 persisted and were detected 2 years later (17.6%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 10.9-28.5%) and was similar to the persistence of α cervical HPV (40/223; 17.7%; 95% CI, 13.1-23.9%; P = 0.86). Acquisition of new α oral HPV type was low; incident infection (1.7%; 95% CI, 0.6-3.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Oral HPV DNA is uncommon in young women in Latin America, and often appears to clear within a few years at similar rates to cervical HPV.

Trends in cervical cancer incidence in younger US women from 2000 to 2013.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the temporal trends in invasive cervical cancer (ICC) incidence rates among 21-25year-olds. US guidelines no longer recommend screening prior to age 21, and concerns have been raised that delayed screening initiation may increase ICC incidence among young women. METHODS: This study utilized ICC incidence data from 18 US population-based cancer registries in SEER from 2000 to 2013 and Pap test prevalence data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System from 1996 to 2012. Trends were evaluated with annual percent changes (APCs) using Joinpoint regression. RESULTS: The prevalence of never having a Pap test before age 21 increased from 22.0% in 1996-2004 to 38.3% in 2006-2012 (APC=+5.48, 95%CI=+4.20, +7.50). Despite this decline in screening, ICC incidence among 21-23year olds significantly declined between 2000 and 13 (APC=-5.36, 95%CI=-7.83,-2.82), particularly from 2006 to 2013 (APC=-9.70, 95%CI=-15.79, -3.17). ICC incidence remained constant among 24-25year olds (APC=+0.45, 95%CI=-2.00, 2.97). Compared to women born in 1978-1985, women born in 1986-1991 had a higher prevalence of never receiving a Pap test prior to 21 (35.4% vs. 22.1%, p<0.001), but a lower ICC incidence at 21-23 (0.98 vs. 1.55 per 100,000, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: While US females born in 1986-1991 were less likely to receive a Pap test before age 21, diagnoses of ICC in the early 20s were rare and lower than for those born in earlier years. This provides reassurance that the updated guidelines to delay screening until 21 has not resulted in a population-level increase in ICC rates among young women.

Natural Acquired Immunity Against Subsequent Genital Human Papillomavirus Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Studies have been mixed on whether naturally acquired human papillomavirus (HPV) antibodies may protect against subsequent HPV infection. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess whether naturally acquired HPV antibodies protect against subsequent genital HPV infection (ie, natural immunity). METHODS: We searched the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases for studies examining natural HPV immunity against subsequent genital type-specific HPV infection in female and male subjects. We used random-effects models to derive pooled relative risk (RR) estimates for each HPV type. RESULTS: We identified 14 eligible studies that included >24,000 individuals from 18 countries that examined HPV natural immunity. We observed significant protection against subsequent infection in female subjects with HPV-16 (pooled RR, 0.65; 95% confidence interval, .50-.80) and HPV-18 (0.70; .43-.98) but not in male subjects (HPV-16: 1.22; .67-1.77 [P= .05 (test for heterogeneity)]; HPV-18: 1.50; .46-2.55; [P= .15]). We also observed type-specific protection against subsequent infection for a combined measure of HPV-6/11/31/33/35/45/52/58 in female subjects (pooled RR, 0.75; 95% confidence interval, .57-.92). Natural immunity was also evident in female subjects when analyses were restricted to studies that used neutralizing assays, used HPV persistence as an outcome, or reported adjusted analyses (each P< .05). CONCLUSIONS: HPV antibodies acquired through natural infection provide modest protection against subsequent cervical HPV infection in female subjects.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) L1 Serum Antibodies and the Risk of Subsequent Oral HPV Acquisition in Men: The HIM Study.

The role of antibody-mediated immunity in preventing newly acquired oral human papillomavirus (HPV) is not well understood. Among 1618 men participating in the HPV Infection in Men (HIM) Study, we evaluated oral rinses for HPV DNA and baseline sera for HPV-6, -11, -16, and -18 L1 antibodies. Thirty percent of men (486) were seropositive for ≥1 HPV type, and 25 men developed incident oral HPV infection (HPV-6 was detected in 7, HPV-11 in 0, HPV-16 in 17, and HPV-18 in 1). Cox models revealed that men with circulating antibodies to HPV-6, -11, -16, or -18 were not less likely to acquire type-specific oral HPV than men without antibodies (hazard ratio for the risk of acquiring HPV-6, -11, -16, or -18, 1.63; 95% confidence interval, .56-4.76).

Eurogin Roadmap 2015: How has HPV knowledge changed our practice: Vaccines.

This review is one of two complementary reviews that have been prepared in the framework of the Eurogin Roadmap 2015 to evaluate how knowledge about HPV is changing practices in HPV infection and disease control through vaccination and screening. In this review of HPV vaccine knowledge, we present the most significant findings of the past year which have contributed to our knowledge of the two HPV prophylactic vaccines currently in widespread use and about the recently licensed nonavalent HPV vaccine. Whereas anal cancer is dealt with in the companion mini-review on screening, we also review here the rapidly evolving evidence regarding HPV-associated head and neck cancer and priority research areas.

Impact of human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 and 18 vaccination on prevalent infections and rates of cervical lesions after excisional treatment.

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus vaccines prevent human papillomavirus infection and cervical precancers. The impact of vaccinating women with a current infection or after treatment for an human papillomavirus-associated lesion is not fully understood. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether human papillomavirus-16/18 vaccination influences the outcome of infections present at vaccination and the rate of infection and disease after treatment of lesions. STUDY DESIGN: We included 1711 women (18-25 years) with carcinogenic human papillomavirus infection and 311 women of similar age who underwent treatment for cervical precancer and who participated in a community-based trial of the AS04-adjuvanted human papillomavirus-16/18 virus-like particle vaccine. Participants were randomized (human papillomavirus or hepatitis A vaccine) and offered 3 vaccinations over 6 months. Follow-up included annual visits (more frequently if clinically indicated), referral to colposcopy of high-grade and persistent low-grade lesions, treatment by loop electrosurgical excisional procedure when clinically indicated, and cytologic and virologic follow-up after treatment. Among women with human papillomavirus infection at the time of vaccination, we considered type-specific viral clearance, and development of cytologic (squamous intraepithelial lesions) and histologic (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia) lesions. Among treated women, we considered single-time and persistent human papillomavirus infection, squamous intraepithelial lesions, and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2 or greater. Outcomes associated with infections absent before treatment also were evaluated. Infection-level analyses were performed and vaccine efficacy estimated. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 56.7 months (women with human papillomavirus infection) and 27.3 months (treated women). There was no evidence of vaccine efficacy to increase clearance of human papillomavirus infections or decrease incidence of cytologic/histologic abnormalities associated with human papillomavirus types present at enrollment. Vaccine efficacy for human papillomavirus 16/18 clearance and against human papillomavirus 16/18 progression from infection to cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2 or greater were -5.4% (95% confidence interval -19,10) and 0.3% (95% confidence interval -69,41), respectively. Among treated women, 34.1% had oncogenic infection and 1.6% had cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2 or greater detected after treatment, respectively, and of these 69.8% and 20.0% were the result of new infections. We observed no significant effect of vaccination on rates of infection/lesions after treatment. Vaccine efficacy estimates for human papillomavirus 16/18 associated persistent infection and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2 or greater after treatment were 34.7% (95% confidence interval -131, 82) and -211% (95% confidence interval -2901, 68), respectively. We observed evidence for a partial and nonsignificant protective effect of vaccination against new infections absent before treatment. For incident human papillomavirus 16/18, human papillomavirus 31/33/45, and oncogenic human papillomavirus infections post-treatment, vaccine efficacy estimates were 57.9% (95% confidence interval -43, 88), 72.9% (95% confidence interval 29, 90), and 36.7% (95% confidence interval 1.5, 59), respectively. CONCLUSION: We find no evidence for a vaccine effect on the fate of detectable human papillomavirus infections. We show that vaccination does not protect against infections/lesions after treatment. Evaluation of vaccine protection against new infections after treatment and resultant lesions warrants further consideration in future studies.

Efficacy of fewer than three doses of an HPV-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine: combined analysis of data from the Costa Rica Vaccine and PATRICIA Trials.

BACKGROUND: There is some evidence to suggest that one or two doses of the HPV vaccine provides similar protection to the three-dose regimen. The main aim of the study was to ascertain HPV-16/18 vaccine efficacy in both full and naive cohorts and to explore protection conferred against non-vaccine HPV types, by number of doses received. METHODS: Summary data from the Costa Rica Vaccine Trial (CVT; NCT00128661) and ~the PATRICIA trial (NCT001226810), two phase 3, double-blind, randomised controlled clinical trials of the HPV-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine in young women, were combined in a post-hoc analysis (GlaxoSmithKline [GSK] e-track number 202142) to investigate the efficacy of fewer than three doses of the HPV-16/18 vaccine after 4 years of follow-up. Women were randomly assigned to receive three doses of the HPV-16/18 vaccine or to a control vaccine; yet, some received fewer doses. After exclusion of women with less than 12 months of follow-up or those who were HPV-16/18 DNA-positive at enrolment (for the HPV-16/18 endpoint), we calculated vaccine efficacy against one-time detection of incident HPV infections after three, two, and one dose(s). The primary study endpoint was one-time detection of first incident HPV-16/18 infections accumulated during the follow-up phase. FINDINGS: We assessed vaccine efficacy against incident HPV-16/18 infection in the modified total vaccinated cohort (22 327 received three doses, 1185 two doses, 543 one dose). Vaccine efficacy against incident HPV-16/18 infections for three doses was 77·0% (95% CI 74·7-79·1), two doses was 76·0% (62·0-85·3), and one dose was 85·7% (70·7-93·7). Vaccine efficacy against incident HPV-31/33/45 infections for three doses was 59·7% (56·0-63·0), two doses was 37·7% (12·4-55·9), and one dose was 36·6% (-5·4 to 62·2). Vaccine efficacy against incident HPV-16/18 infection for two-dose women who received their second dose at 1 month was 75·3% (54·2-87·5) and 82·6% (42·3-96·1) for those who received the second dose at 6 months (CVT data only). Vaccine efficacy against HPV-31/33/45 for two-dose women who received their second dose at 6 months (68·1%, 27·0-87·0; CVT data only), but not those receiving it at one month (10·1%, -42·0 to 43·3), was similar to the three-dose group. INTERPRETATION: 4 years after vaccination of women aged 15-25 years, one and two doses of the HPV-16/18 vaccine seem to protect against cervical HPV-16/18 infections, similar to the protection provided by the three-dose schedule. Two doses separated by 6 months additionally provided some cross-protection. These data argue for a direct assessment of one-dose efficacy of the HPV-16/18 vaccine. FUNDING: US National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women's Health, and Ministry of Health of Costa Rica (CVT); GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SA (PATRICIA).