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DYNAMICS OF HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS (HPV) SEROLOGY IN WOMEN FOLLOWED-UP FOR 36 MONTHS AFTER PREGNANCY

¹ University of Turku;
² German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ);
³ German Cancer Research Center;
⁴ Turku University Hospital;
⁵ German Cancer Research Center

⁶ E-mail: stina.syrjanen{at}utu.fi

We determined L1 antibodies for HPV types 6, 11, 16, 18 and 45 by multiplex serology in our prospective HPV family study and report seroprevalence, seroconversion and antibody decay in 290 women (mean age 25.5 years) sampled before delivery, and at 12-, 24- and 36 months of follow-up. Multiplex HPV genotyping of the baseline oral and genital scrapings was performed. At baseline, seroprevalence of HPV 6, 11, 16, 18 and 45 was 53.3%, 21.5%, 34.9%, 21.5% and 9.0%, respectively. Seropositivity to low-risk HPV (LR-HPV) was significantly associated with age at onset of sexual activity (p=0.001), number of sexual partners until age 20 (p=0.018), life-time number of sexual partners (p=0.0001), history of genital warts (p=0.0001) and being seropositive to high risk HPV (HR-HPV) (p=0.0001). The same covariates predicted also seropositivity to HR-HPV. During follow-up, 26.7%, 13.9%, 17.0%, 16.8% and 6.6% of the women seroconverted to L1 antigen of HPV 6, 11, 16, 18 and 45 between 18.2 to 23.8 months. Independent predictors of seroconversion to LR-HPV were unemployment (p=0.019) and absence of anal sex practice (p=0.031), and to HR-HPV, absence of smoking history and life-time number of sexual partners. Decay of HPV 6, 11, 16, 18, and 45 antibodies was observed in 2.3%, 4.0%, 5.3%, 4.5% and 1.5% of the women, respectively, decay time varying from 27.2 to 35.8 months. These data implicate that i) substantial proportion of young women are seropositive to both LR- and HR-HPV types, ii) they frequently undergo seroconversion within 18-24 months, predicted by common covariates, and iii) antibody decay over 3 years is rare.

Received 9 October 2008; accepted 9 February 2009.