Transmission of carcinogenic human papillomavirus types from mother to child

Abstract

Currently, human papillomavirus (HPV) research focuses on HPV infection in adults and sexual transmission. Data on HPV infection in children are slowly becoming available. It is a matter of debate whether mother-to-child transmission of HPV is an important infection route and whether children born to HPV-positive mothers are at a higher risk of HPV infection compared with children born to HPV-negative mothers. The objective of this meta-analysis is to summarize the published literature on the extent to which genital HPV infection is vertically transmitted from mother to child. Medline, Web of Science, and CINAHL were searched for eligible reports published before January 2011. Differences in the risk of HPV infection between newborns from HPV-positive and HPV-negative mothers were pooled using a random-effects model. Twenty eligible studies, including 3128 women/children pairs, fulfilled the selection criteria. High heterogeneity could be found (I=96%). The overall estimated risk difference was 33% (95% confidence interval: 22-44%). On restricting to high-risk HPV-positive mothers only (n=4; women=231), the difference in risk was 45% (95% confidence interval: 33-56%). The heterogeneity was found to be low (I=15%). This meta-analysis indicates a significantly higher risk for children born to HPV-positive mothers to become HPV positive themselves. Plausible explanations include vertical transmission of HPV during pregnancy and/or birth or a higher infection rate during early nursing from mother to child. More research is required to gain an insight into the precise mode of transmission and the clinical effects of infection on the child.

HPV in Head and Neck Carcinomas: Different HPV Profiles in Oropharyngeal Carcinomas – Why?

“…A recent meta-analysis on 3,128 mother/child pairs showed that children of HPV-positive mothers were 33% more likely to be HPV-positive than children born to HPV-negative mothers. This risk was even higher (45%) when only HR-HPV infections were considered [88]. It was estimated that vertical HPV transmission was the most likely mode of virus acquisition in 20% of these children, and other plausible explanations included a higher infection rate from the mother to her child during the early nursing period [88].…”

“…This risk was even higher (45%) when only HR-HPV infections were considered [88]. It was estimated that vertical HPV transmission was the most likely mode of virus acquisition in 20% of these children, and other plausible explanations included a higher infection rate from the mother to her child during the early nursing period [88]. Another recent meta-analysis showed that the pooled percentage of antenatal vertical HPV transmission was 4.9% (95% CI 1.651–9.849) among HPV-positive mothers.…”

HPV Infections in Heterosexual Couples: Mechanisms and Covariates of Virus Transmission

“…The risk was 45% when only HR-HPV infection was considered. [33]. A recent meta-analysis calculated that the pooled percentage of antenatal vertical HPV transmission was 4.936% (95% CI 1.651–9.849) [38].…”

Association of HPV with genetic and epigenetic alterations in colorectal adenocarcinoma from Indian population

“…This can be rather due to geographical differences in HPV prevalence, distribution of HPV variants, susceptibility towards HPV infection or lifestyle and sexual behaviour as well [5]. Modes of transmission of HPV in colorectal cancer have been contentious; however, anal transmission by sexual behaviour, retrograde viral transmission from the anogenital area [27] or vertical transfer from HPV infected mother [28] has been anticipated. However, similar colonal and rectal viral detection rates in the current as well as previous studies suggest that HPV might not be a result of retrograde viral transmission from the anogenital areas [8,9].…”