P02-09HPV VIRAL LOAD CORRELATIONS AMONG YOUNG, RECENTLY-FORMED HETEROSEXUAL COUPLES

02. Epidemiology and natural history
M.D. Wissing 1, K. Louvanto 2, E. Comète 3, A.N. Burchell 4, P.P. Tellier 5, F. Coutlée 3, E.F. Franco 1.
1Division of Cancer Epidemiology, Department of Oncology, McGill University, Montreal, QC (Canada), 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital of Helsinki, University of Helsinki, Helsinki (Finland), 3Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC (Canada), 4Division of Epidemiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON (Canada), 5Department of Family Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC (Canada)

Background / Objectives

High human papillomavirus (HPV) concordance and transmission rates among sexually active couples have been well established. The role of HPV-genotype specific viral load concordance among couples in recently-formed relationships has not been studied well.


Methods

We used data from the prospective HITCH-cohort study. This study included young women (aged 18-24) and their male partners who had recently initiated a sexual relationship in Montreal, Canada, and the couples were followed for up to two years. In the current analyses, we analyzed their web-based questionnaires and genital samples collected at baseline and at four months. Samples were tested for HPV DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using a Linear Array HPV genotyping assay. In HPV positive samples, viral loads of HPV6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 42 and 51 were quantified using type-specific real-time PCR assays. We assessed the correlation between viral load measurements (number of HPV DNA copies per cell) by calculating Spearman's rank-based coefficients.


Results

We analyzed 502 couples for HPV DNA, of which 233 couples had at least one partner with a genital sample positive for HPV DNA. Among men and women, 162 and 150 type-specific, persistent HPV infections were detected, respectively. Genital viral loads at baseline were correlated with viral loads at 4 months within individuals with a persistent HPV infection, to a larger extent in men (rs­=0.413; p<0.001) than in women (rs=0.191, p=0.019). Furthermore, in HPV concordant couples, HPV viral loads of sexual partners were correlated with each other at baseline (142 couples, r=0.267, p=0.001). At four months, the magnitude of the viral load correlation decreased in couples that continued having sexual activity with each other (91 HPV-couples, r=0.195, p=0.064). Viral loads of men and women at baseline were not associated with type-specific viral loads of their sexual partner four months later, despite remaining sexually active (r=0.076, p=0.431; r=0.033, p=0.743, respectively).


Conclusion

In individuals with a persistent HPV infection, particularly men, one’s viral load is predictive for the viral load four months later, suggesting limited fluctuations in viral loads over time. HPV viral loads are correlated in young, recently-formed heterosexual couples, but this correlation seems to decrease as the relationship progresses.


References