Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 6, 2025
Microscopic Replantation of Penile Glans Amputation Due to Circumcision
Published on: June 3, 2022
Male Circumcision Reduces Penile HPV Incidence and Persistence: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Kenya
Jennifer S Smith1,2, Danielle M Backes3, Michael G Hudgens4
1Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. JenniferS@unc.edu.
Background:
Male circumcision reduces the risk of human immunodeficiency virus infection in men. We assessed the effect of male circumcision on the incidence and natural history of human papillomavirus (HPV) in a randomized clinical trial in Kisumu, Kenya.
Methods:
Sexually active, 18- to 24-year-old men provided penile exfoliated cells for HPV DNA testing every 6 months for 2 years. HPV DNA was detected via GP5+/6+ PCR in glans/coronal sulcus and in shaft samples. HPV incidence and persistence were assessed by intent-to-treat analyses.
Results:
A total of 2,193 men participated (1,096 randomized to circumcision; 1,097 controls). HPV prevalence was 50% at baseline for both groups and dropped to 23.7% at 24 months in the circumcision group, and 41.0% in control group. Incident infection of any HPV type over 24 months was lower among men in the circumcision group than in the control group [HR = 0.61; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.52-0.72]. Clearance rate of any HPV infection over 24 months was higher in the circumcision group than in the control group (HR = 1.87; 95% CI, 1.49-2.34). Lower HPV point-prevalence, lower HPV incidence, and higher HPV clearance in the circumcision group were observed in glans but not in shaft samples.
Conclusion:
Male circumcision reduced the risk of HPV acquisition and reinfection, and increased HPV clearance in the glans.
Impact:
Providing voluntary, safe, and affordable male circumcision should help reduce HPV infections in men, and consequently, HPV-associated disease in their partners.
