Oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and HPV vaccination in an Australian cohort

Human papillomavirus (HPV)‐related oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) is increasing in incidence, yet very little is known about oral HPV infection in the general population. In this Australian‐based study we assess oral HPV prevalence according to HPV vaccination status. Participants of the Oral Diversity Study were Australian residents, aged 18 to 70 years, who filled out a questionnaire about lifestyle and sexual behaviour, and donated a saliva sample in 2020 to 2021. We obtained permission to access HPV vaccination status through record linkage with the Australian Immunisation Register. Saliva samples were DNA extracted, DNA quality checked and analysed for HPV. We recruited 1023 participants to the Oral Diversity Study. Nine hundred twenty‐one returned a saliva sample for analysis, 911 passed the DNA quality check and were included in the study. The oral HPV prevalence was 7.2%, and was strongly associated with sexual behaviours. We identified 27 different HPV types; 53% of participants carried high‐risk HPV types, with no difference between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated groups (53% both, P = .979). Two hundred thirty participants (26%) were HPV vaccinated. The oral prevalence of the nine HPV types included in the nonavalent HPV vaccine was significantly lower in the vaccinated participants compared to the unvaccinated (0.9% vs 3.4%; P = .022). These findings suggest that a sizeable minority of Australian residents harbour oral HPV infections, and many of these are high‐risk subtypes. We found some evidence that HPV vaccination resulted in lower prevalence of oral HPV infections of vaccine‐specific types. Larger surveys are required to confirm these findings. What's new? Oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infections are thought to contribute to the rising incidence of oropharyngeal cancer, but data is lacking about oral HPV infections in the general population. Here, the authors investigated the prevalence of oral HPV infections stratified by HPV vaccination status in a cohort of Australian participants. Around 7% of participants were positive for oral HPV infection, predominantly with high‐risk HPV types. While there was no statistically significant difference in overall oral HPV prevalence, HPV vaccination resulted in a lower prevalence of oral HPV infections with vaccine‐specific types.