Should men whose female partners have cervical high grade intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) be screened?

Abstract

Objective

The subject of screening for genital HPV lesions in the male partner of women with cervical high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) remains a topic of discussion. The present study evaluated the prevalence of penile high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) clinical lesions in 196 men whose female partners had been diagnosed with cervical low-grade and high-grade intraepithelial lesions (LSIL, HSIL) in Ile-de-France.

Methods

In cases involving couples where the female partner had been diagnosed with a cervical LSIL or HSIL lesion, the male partner underwent examination using the peniscopy method. The presence of clinical identified HPV lesions was confirmed by biopsy proven histological analysis.

Results

The mean age of the 196 couples was 33.4 years for women and 35.6 years for men. Among the 196 women, 125 (64 %) had cervical LSIL and 71 (36 %) had cervical HSIL detected by colposcopy and confirmed by histology. Among 196 men, 65 (33 %) HPV lesions were identified and confirmed by histology. Of these, 44/196 (22 %) were penile LSIL and 21/196 (11 %) were penile HSIL. The risk of penile HSIL increased twofold (Fisher test 1.9) if the female partner had cervical HSIL (11/71, 15.5 %) versus cervical LSIL (10/125, 8 %).

Conclusion

A man with a partner who has cervical HSIL is twice as likely to have penile HSIL than if his partner has LSIL cervical. This suggests that peniscopy should be offered to this population. It could avoid the persistence or recurrence of cervical HSIL of their partner.