Association between human papillomavirus and prostate cancer: A meta-analysis

Observational studies have suggested an association between human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and the risk of prostate cancer (PCa). However, the association between HPV infection and the risk of PCa remains unclear. The aim of the present meta-analysis study was to investigate whether HPV serves a role in increasing the risk of PCa. Relevant previous studies up to May 2015 were searched in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Wan Fang database and China Biomedical Literature Database. A random-effects model or fixed-effects model was employed to determine odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), when appropriate. Heterogeneity was evaluated using Q and I² statistical analysis. A total of 24 case-control studies involving 971 patients and 1,085 controls were investigated to estimate the association between HPV infection and PCa risk. The pooled estimate for OR was 2.27 (95% CI, 1.40-3.69). Stratified pooled analyses were subsequently performed according to the HPV detection methods, geographical regions, publication years and types of tissue. Sensitivity analysis based on various exclusion criteria maintained the significance with respect to PCa individually. Little evidence of publication bias was observed. The meta-analysis suggested that HPV infection is associated with increasing risk of PCa, which indicated a potential pathogenetic link between HPV and PCa.