Repeatability of Sample Collection Methods Among Men from the HPV Detection in Asymptomatic Men Study

Abstract

HPV prevalence in men varies across populations and with different sampling methods. However, reliability of sampling methods in men is unknown. The goal of this study is to assess repeatability of HPV sampling among asymptomatic men. Duplicate swab samples were collected at five anogenital sites from 139 men from the HPV Detection in Asymptomatic Men study in 2005. HPV testing by PCR and reverse line blot genotyping for 37 HPV types was conducted on each sample independently. Anatomic site-specific HPV prevalence, concordance and Kappa statistics were calculated for any HPV, oncogenic types, and nononcogenic types. Site-specific HPV prevalence was highest at the penile shaft among detectable HPV types. Agreement was consistently observed to be the highest at the penile shaft and coronal sulcus/glans penis. No consistent predictors of discordance were identified. These results show high levels of repeatability in our HPV sampling methods.