HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (Papers in Press[PDF]) All Versions of this Article: vir.0.010637-0v1 90/8/1986    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Waterboer, T. Articles by Pawlita, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Waterboer, T. Articles by Pawlita, M. Agricola Articles by Waterboer, T. Articles by Pawlita, M.

Antibody responses to 26 skin Human Papillomavirus types in The Netherlands, Italy and Australia

¹ Department of Genome Modifications and Carcinogenesis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ);
² Queensland Institute of Medical Research;
³ Joint DKFZ-EMBL Chemical Biology Core Facility, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL);
⁴ DDL Diagnostic Laboratory;
⁵ Institute of Virology, University of Cologne;
⁶ Istituto Dermopatico dell'Immacolata IDI-IRCCS;
⁷ Department of Dermatology, Leiden University Medical Center

⁸ E-mail: t.waterboer{at}dkfz.de

Solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation is the main risk factor for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), but infections with skin Human Papillomavirus (HPV) types have also been linked to the development of SCC. Little is known about the natural history of these infections and whether the seroprevalence of skin HPV types is affected by ambient or individual levels of sun exposure. We investigated this by analysing sera for antibodies to 26 skin HPV types from five phylogenetic genera obtained from 807 healthy individuals from The Netherlands, Italy and Australia, countries with strong differences in sunlight intensity. Overall HPV seroprevalence was similar across the three countries (50-57% for beta types, 40-48% for gamma types), and the most frequent beta and gamma types were the same in all countries. Highest seroprevalences for 24 of the 26 skin HPV types were observed in Italy (14 types) and Australia (10 types). Seroprevalence among men was generally higher than among women, and male sex was significantly associated with both beta (Odds Ratio [OR] 2.81, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.64-4.82) and gamma (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.40-4.18) antibodies in Australia. The only measure of sun sensitivity or UV exposure significantly associated with skin HPV seroprevalence was found for weekend sun exposure in Australia and beta HPV antibodies.We conclude that type spectra and HPV seroprevalence are similar in countries with different sunlight intensity, and that levels of UV exposure do not play a strong role in the development of skin HPV antibodies in our study population.

Received 29 January 2009; accepted 17 April 2009.