Prior clinically diagnosed human papillomavirus infection and risk of esophageal cancer

Key Details

The relationship between human papillomavirus (HPV) and esophageal cancer (EC) is not well understood. This study, based on a population-based case-control design, sought to investigate the association between previous clinically diagnosed HPV infections and the later risk of developing EC, utilizing a population-based dataset. We obtained data from Taiwan's Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2010. Our study included 1903 patients newly diagnosed with EC and 8017 matched controls based on propensity scores. We applied multivariable logistic regression models to assess the relationship between previous clinically diagnosed HPV infections and EC, while taking into account factors such as sociodemographic characteristics and medical comorbidities. In total, 3.92% of the participants had a history of clinically diagnosed HPV infection, with a higher occurrence in cases of EC (5.41%) compared to controls (3.97%). The multivariable logistic regression analysis indicated that clinically diagnosed HPV infection was linked to an elevated risk of EC (adjusted OR = 1.467; 95% CI 1.160-1.856). When analyzing by gender, the connection was found to be stronger in females (adjusted OR = 1.877; 95% CI 1.037-3.397) compared to males (adjusted OR = 1.408; 95% CI 1.008-1.822). A higher risk of EC is associated with a prior clinically diagnosed HPV infection, especially in women. It is acknowledged that the present study is based on clinical diagnosis codes, which may not fully capture the actual prevalence of asymptomatic HPV infections. Nevertheless, the findings suggest a probable biological link, although its clinical applicability is limited to symptomatic, clinically diagnosed infections.

Why This Matters

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Source

• Prior clinically diagnosed human papillomavirus infection and risk of esophageal cancer.