Human papillomavirus and prostate cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

The involvement of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the prostate carcinogenesis is a controversial issue. The presented meta-analysis was carried out to systematize the currently available research results regarding this question. The meta-analysis includes case-control studies from 1991 to 2022, which were collected from publicly available bibliometric databases. The meta-analysis was performed using Meta-Essentials_1.5 software. We used Begg's and Egger's methods to assess publication bias. Cochran's Q test was used to assess heterogeneity and the I² index was employed for calculating the variation in the pooled estimations. The analysis was based on data from 27 case-control studies, which in total yielded 1607 tumour tissue samples of prostate and 1515 control samples (317 samples of normal tissue, 1198 samples of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)). According to the data obtained, there was high risk of prostate cancer by HPV infection in both cases. HPV was found in prostate cancer in 25.8% of cases, while in normal tissue samples the virus was detected in 9.2% of cases and in 17.4% with BPH as a control. In particular, more studies on the association of HPV and prostate cancer are needed to prove the role of HPV in the development of prostate cancer. In addition to the controversial question of whether HPV infection is associated with prostate cancer risk, it is worth considering whether the samples used as a control have an impact on the results. The impact of HPV in prostate tumour tissue samples on outcome should also be investigated.

Figure 1

Flowchart of included studies.

Figure 2

Association between HPV infection and prostate cancer risk. (a) Results of the meta-analysis of the association between HPV infection and prostate cancer risk; (b) odds ratio in men positive for HPV; (c) Begg’s funnel plot of studies investigating HPV as a risk factor.

Figure 3

Association between HPV infection and prostate cancer risk, relative to pre-tumour prostate pathology. (a) Results of the meta-analysis of the association between HPV infection and prostate cancer risk; (b) odds ratio in men positive for HPV; (c) Begg’s funnel plot of studies investigating HPV as a risk factor.