Most HPV infections cause no symptoms and clear without intervention, but certain types of HPV can lead to anogenital warts or cancer. HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer in women and each year more than 340,000 women die of cervical cancer related to HPV.
In men, IARC estimated that in 2018 there were more than 69,400 of cases of cancer caused by HPV. HPV related cancers in men include penile, anal, oral and throat cancers.
Researchers using a systematic meta-analysis found 5685 publications through database searches. Among them, we included 65 studies (involving 44,769 men) from 35 countries.
The overall prevalence worldwide was 31% for any HPV and 21% for HR-HPV. HPV-16 stood out as the most prevalent genotype (5%), followed by HPV-6 (4%).
The prevalence of HPV was notably high among young adults, peaking between ages 25 and 29 and remaining relatively stable or slightly decreasing afterwards.
Similar prevalence rates were observed across different global regions, such as Europe and Northern America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Australia and New Zealand (Oceania). However, Eastern and South-Eastern Asia reported approximately half the prevalence of the other regions.