日本性感染症学会誌 Journal of Japanese Society for Sexually Transmitted Infections

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a sexually transmitted disease and a known cause of cervical cancer and its precancerous lesions. Epidemiological studies have shown that men and women have similar HPV infection rates. Among all the urologic cancers, penile cancer has been reported to be the most severe HPV-associated cancer. Although there are mixed positive and negative reports regarding bladder and prostate cancers, an HPV infection can be associated with the development of certain types of bladder and prostate cancers. Despite the negative association between testicular tumors and HPV infections, there have been increasing reports in the recent years stating that HPV infection of semen contributes to the deterioration of sperm parameters, such as sperm motility rate. The possibility that HPV infections are also associated with male infertility has also been pointed out. Therefore, it is important to recognize HPV infections as a sexually transmitted disease and a common health problem and also to improve HPV vaccination rates for both men and women.