Clinical and Public Health Considerations for HPV Infection in Men: A Narrative Review

Genital wart is the most common sexually transmitted disease which is a result of infection with human papillomavirus (HPV), mostly type 6 and 11. Despite its usually benign characteristic, HPV infection can pose considerable psychological, social, and economic burdens on patients and society. Here, we focused the existing data in this regard through searching on PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus and tried to provide a comprehensive review of the vast range of presentations and complications of HPV infection in the male population. HPV infection most commonly manifests with benign lesions including skin and genital warts, oral lesions, and laryngeal papillomatosis in men. Genital warts are the most important epidermal manifestations of the epidermotropic HPV. Non-oncogenic HPVs (types 6 and 11) cause the majority of genital warts in men. Interestingly, HPV can decrease sperm motility by binding to the head of the human spermatozoa and reducing sperm’s normal morphology rate which can lead to infertility. Moreover, several male-specific malignancies like penile cancers are associated with HPV infection, especially inmunocompromised individuals. Despite a relatively benign course of HPV infection in men versus women, its role in anogenital warts, infertility, and malignancies warrants the prompt inclusion of the male population in the vaccination programs, not only to decrease HPV-related disorders, infertility, and deaths in men but also to improve the quality of life of women, considering the main route of virus transmission.