title: Comparison of physician- and self-collected genital specimens for detection of human papillomavirus in men.
abstract: There is currently no consensus regarding the most appropriate methods of sampling for the detection of genital human papillomavirus (HPV) in men. We employed a recently developed collection method involving abrasion and moistened swabbing of the genital skin surface for the detection of HPV in a cohort of 136 university-affiliated males in Hawaii. Genital specimens collected by physicians using this method were compared with self-collected specimens from the same individuals obtained 24 h later. Self-collected specimens yielded a greater proportion of sufficient specimens than physician-collected specimens. HPV detection was comparable in physician- and self-collected specimens; detection was highest in the penile shaft (51.2% and 51.5%, respectively, P = 0.96), followed by the scrotum (41.2% and 46.2%, P = 0.43), the glans/coronal sulcus (31.9% and 33.1%, P = 0.84), and the foreskin (33.3% and 28.6%, P = 0.74). Site-specific agreement in HPV detection between paired physician- and self-collected samples ranged from 67.2% (kappa = 0.34) for the penile shaft to 95.0% (kappa = 0.89) for the foreskin. There was a high degree of concordance in HPV genotypes in HPV-positive pairs. The most common type was HPV type 84, which comprised approximately 15% of the specimens. The emery paper-swab method offers an efficient sampling method for genital HPV DNA detection in men that could be used both within and outside of the clinical setting.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, 1236 Lauhala Street, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA. brenda@crch.hawaii.edu
authors.forename: Brenda Y
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Hernandez
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McDuffie
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Wilkens
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ning
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005837:Genitalia, Male / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000821:virology; D010819:Physician's Role; D012648:Self Care; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods*; D014495:Universities; D014860:Warts / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral