Genital human Papillomavirus infection in patients with autoimmune inflammatory diseases

Treatment advances achieved over the last few years have radically changed the management of patients with autoimmune inflammatory diseases requiring conventional or biological immunosuppressive therapy. These diseases and the drugs used to treat them increase the rate of infections, including genital infections due to the human Papillomavirus (HPV). Genital HPV infections have been extensively studied in organ transplant recipients, HIV-infected patients, and patients with congenital immune deficiencies. Although genital HPV infections usually manifest as benign lesions of the external genital organs (condylomata), they are associated with an increased risk of cancer. Very few data are available on genital HPV infections associated with autoimmune inflammatory diseases or their treatments. Here, we review the published information on this topic.