Frequency of high risk human papillomavirus (HPV) serotypes in cervicovaginal smear of wives of men with genital warts and its relation with Pap smear

Human papillomavirus is the leading cause of cervical cancer and with timely diagnosis and prompt treatment of these infections, the progression of cervical cancer can be prevented. This study was performed with aim to investigate the prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus serotypes in cervicovaginal smears of wives of men with genital warts and its relation with Pap smear.

In this cross-sectional study, which was conducted between 2018 and 2020 in a private practice or affiliated clinics of the Islamic Azad University of Mashhad, 74 wives of men with genital warts were included in the study after confirmation of inclusion criteria. High-risk serotypes of human papillomavirus were determined by the Cobas apparatus, which is based on molecular methods. Cellular changes and inflammation of cervicovaginal smear samples were also examined by liquid base method in their spouses with genital warts. Data were analyzed using SPSS (version 20) and Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Chi-square, Fisher and ANOVA tests. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The prevalence of premalignancy lesions or low and high grade dysplasia in the wives of men with genital warts was 10.8% and 4.1%, respectively, while in 85.1% of the sample examined, no dysplasia was observed. Also, high-risk serotypes were observed in 29.7% of the wives of men with genital warts, that 8.1% were serotypes 16, 2.7% genotypes 18 and 18.9% other serotypes.

Due to the high prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus in the wives of men with genital warts (29.7%), Pap smear test and determination of human papillomavirus serotype is recommended in these individuals.