Antibody responses to 26 skin human papillomavirus types in the Netherlands, Italy and Australia.
Solar UV radiation is the main risk factor for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), but infections with skin human papillomavirus (HPV) types have also been linked to the development of SCC. Little is known about the natural history of these infections and whether the seroprevalence of skin HPV types is affected by ambient or individual levels of sun exposure. This study investigated this by analysing sera for antibodies to 26 skin HPV types from five phylogenetic genera obtained from 807 healthy individuals from the Netherlands, Italy and Australia, countries with strong differences in sunlight intensity. Overall HPV seroprevalence was similar across the three countries (50-57 % for beta-HPV types, 40-48 % for gamma-HPV types), and the most frequent beta-HPV and gamma-HPV types were the same in all countries. The highest seroprevalences for 24 of the 26 skin HPV types were observed in Italy (14 types) and Australia (ten types). Seroprevalence among men was generally higher than among women, and the male sex was significantly associated with both beta-HPV [odds ratio (OR) 2.81, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.64-4.82] and gamma-HPV (OR 2.42, 95 % CI 1.40-4.18) antibodies in Australia. The only measure of sun sensitivity or UV exposure significantly associated with skin HPV seroprevalence was found for weekend sun exposure in Australia and beta-HPV antibodies. It was concluded that type spectra and HPV seroprevalence are similar in countries with different sunlight intensity, and that levels of UV exposure do not play a strong role in the development of skin HPV antibodies in this study population.
Waterboer
Tim
T
Department of Genome Modifications and Carcinogenesis, Infections and Cancer Program, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
Neale
Rachel
R
Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Australia.
Michael
Kristina M
KM
Department of Genome Modifications and Carcinogenesis, Infections and Cancer Program, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
Sehr
Peter
P
Department of Genome Modifications and Carcinogenesis, Infections and Cancer Program, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
de Koning
Maurits N C
MNC
Department of Medical Microbiology, Center of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.|DDL Diagnostic Laboratory, Voorburg, The Netherlands.
Weißenborn
Sönke J
SJ
Institute of Virology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Sampogna
Francesca
F
Istituto Dermopatico dell'Immacolata IDI-IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Abeni
Damiano
D
Istituto Dermopatico dell'Immacolata IDI-IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Green
Adele C
AC
Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Australia.
Bouwes Bavinck
Jan Nico
JN
Department of Dermatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Pawlita
Michael
M
Department of Genome Modifications and Carcinogenesis, Infections and Cancer Program, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
The Epi-Hpv-Uv-Ca Group
Department of Genome Modifications and Carcinogenesis, Infections and Cancer Program, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D010212:Papilloma / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000276:immunology*; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D017193:Skin Diseases, Viral / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D013472:Sunlight
D000914:Antibodies, Viral