Risk of Newly Detected Infections and Cervical Abnormalities in Women Seropositive for Naturally Acquired Human Papillomavirus Type 16/18 Antibodies: Analysis of the Control Arm of PATRICIA

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases 2014-08, Vol.210 (4), p.517-534
• Main Authors: Castellsagué, Xavier, Naud, Paulo, Chow, Song-Nan, Wheeler, Cosette M., Germar, Maria Julieta V., Lehtinen, Matti, Paavonen, Jorma, Jaisamrarn, Unnop, Garland, Suzanne M., Salmerón, Jorge, Apter, Dan, Kitchener, Henry, Teixeira, Julio C., Skinner, S. Rachel, Limson, Genara, Szarewski, Anne, Romanowski, Barbara, Aoki, Fred Y., Schwarz, Tino F., Poppe, Willy A. J., Bosch, F. Xavier, de Carvalho, Newton S., Peters, Klaus, Tjalma, Wiebren A. A., Safaeian, Mahboobeh, Raillard, Alice, Descamps, Dominique, Struyf, Frank, Dubin, Gary, Rosillon, Dominique, Baril, Laurence
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Antibodies; Antibodies, Viral - immunology; Biological and medical sciences; Cancer; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia - diagnosis; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia - virology; Clinical trials; DNA, Viral - genetics; Double-Blind Method; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gynecology; Human papillomavirus; Human papillomavirus 16; Human papillomavirus 16 - genetics; Human papillomavirus 16 - immunology; Human papillomavirus 18; Human papillomavirus 18 - genetics; Human papillomavirus 18 - immunology; Humans; Infections; Infectious diseases; Major and Brief Reports; Medical sciences; Microbiology; Miscellaneous; Papillomaviridae - genetics; Papillomaviridae - immunology; Papillomavirus Infections - complications; Papillomavirus Infections - diagnosis; Papillomavirus Infections - immunology; Papillomavirus Infections - virology; Papillomavirus vaccines; Risk Factors; Sexual intercourse; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - etiology; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - virology; Virology; Viruses; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiu139

Background. We examined risk of newly detected human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical abnormalities in relation to HPV type 16/18 antibody levels at enrollment in PATRICIA (Papilloma Trial Against Cancer in Young Adults; NCT00122681). Methods. Using Poisson regression, we compared risk of newly detected infection and cervical abnormalities associated with HPV-16/18 between seronegative vs seropositive women (15-25 years) in the control arm (DNA negative at baseline for the corresponding HPV type [HPV-16: n = 8193; HPV-18: n = 8463]). Results. High titers of naturally acquired HPV-16 antibodies and/or linear trend for increasing antibody levels were significantly associated with lower risk of incident and persistent infection, atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance or greater (ASCUS+), and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grades 1/2 or greater (CIN1+, CIN2+). For HPV-18, although seropositivity was associated with lower risk of ASCUS+ and CIN1+, no association between naturally acquired antibodies and infection was demonstrated. Naturally acquired HPV-16 antibody levels of 371 (95% confidence interval [CI], 242-794), 204 (95% CI, 129-480), and 480 (95% CI, 250-5756) EU/mL were associated with 90% reduction of incident infection, 6-month persistent infection, and ASCUS+, respectively. Conclusions. Naturally acquired antibodies to HPV-16, and to a lesser extent HPV-18, are associated with some reduced risk of subsequent infection and cervical abnormalities associated with the same HPV type.