Human papillomavirus (HPV)
infection is commonly found in the genital tract of men and women with or without any clinical lesion. The association of HPV
DNA with several different ano-genital
cancers other than cervical has been reported for the vulva, vagina, anus and penis. HPV
DNA has also been identified in head and
neck cancers in the oral cavity, the oropharynx and the larynx in both sexes. In men, 80-85% of
anal cancers and close to 50% of
penile cancers are associated with
HPV infection. In women, HPV
DNA is prevalent in 36-40%
vulvar cancer cases and close to 90% of
vaginal cancers. There is limited data available on the natural history and HPV-related diseases in the genital tract in men, although studies are ongoing. Efficacy of
HPV vaccines in the prevention of
HPV infection and disease among men also remains unknown. Among HPV
DNA positive ano-genital
cancer cases, HPV-16 is the most frequently found followed distantly by HPV-18. In benign HPV-related diseases such as
genital warts or
recurrent respiratory papillomatosis HPV-6 and 11, the two most frequent non-oncogenic types, are the predominant types detected. Oncogenic types are rarely detected. In this article we summarize and review studies describing the natural history of
HPV infections among men and its impact on HPV related disease in women. We summarize the evidence linking HPV in the epidemiology and etiology of
cancers of the vulva, vagina, anus and oropharynx and present recent estimates of the burden of and HPV type distribution in
genital warts and in cases of
HPV infection of the airways.