Circumcision to prevent HPV infection.

摘要

We read with interest the recent editorial suggesting that male circumcision might prove an effective cancer-prevention strategy in developing nations where the vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV) may not. be readily available. Unfortunately, the editors' exposition is based on a debatable premise: namely that HPV is less prevalent among circumcised men. The editors cite a recently published study to support their claim; however, the positive results of this randomised trial, and one published previously, can be fully explained on the basis of sampling bias.