Abstract B130: Social determinants associated with HPV disparities among people with HIV infection in Puerto Rico
Authors: Solá-Morlá Carlos A. , Ramos-Valerio Yabdiel , Martes-Villalobos Coral , Sánchez-Vázquez María M. , Gonzalez-García Ramón F. , Ortiz Ana P. , Martinez-Ferrer Magaly , Pérez-Santiago Josué 
Published: December 2023

Background: People with HIV (PWH) have a higher risk of acquiring oral HPV infection when compared to people without HIV, which can lead to the high prevalence of oropharyngeal cancers in PWH. Puerto Rico (PR), a US jurisdiction, is on the top 10 in terms of HIV prevalence and cumulative AIDS cases among the US and have a significant burden and disparity of HPV-related malignancies. Additionally, PR has socio-economic disadvantages, which is a social determinant of oral health disparities, and can potentially affect oral HPV. The relationship of these social determinants with HPV have not been investigated in PWH in PR. Hence, in this study, we evaluated the relationship between socio-economic, behavioral, and oral health factors with oral HPV among PWH. Methods: We evaluated 117 sexually active PWH (102 males and 15 females) from a community clinic in San Juan, PR. Oral rinse samples were collected and analyzed for HPV infection and genotype using the DNA ELISA kit HPV SPF10 and RHA kit HPV SPF10-LiPA25. We collected sociodemographic characteristics (age, marital status, employment, income) as well as lifestyle variables (smoking habits, alcohol consumption, sexual practices) through an administered questionnaire. Participants also underwent a clinical full-mouth periodontal assessment following the CDC/AAP guidelines. Statistical analyses in relation to HPV were performed in R statistical software. Findings: There was a prevalence of oral HPV infection of 29.9% in PWH in PR, which 70% were high-risk genotypes, with HPV-18 being the most abundant genotype (27.5%). There were 33.3% of males who had oral HPV while only 20% of females had oral HPV. Also, oral HPV infection was significantly associated with periodontitis (p&lt;0.05). In men, oral HPV positivity trended to be frequent with no HPV vaccination (p=0.08). No HPV vaccination was associated with lower income (p&lt;0.05). There was no association between HPV status and sociodemographic and lifestyle variables. Interpretation: The prevalence in high-risk HPV genotypes among PWH was higher than what has previously been observed in PR. We also found a higher prevalence of HPV-18, which may explain clinical disparities concerning oropharyngeal cancer in PR’s population. Additionally, our findings highlight the importance of access to medical care in low-resource settings. Low income can be a surrogate of lack of access of care, which can impact early diagnosis, risk, and prevention of oral HPV. Therefore, targeting social determinants, may help lower the risk of infection and oral cancer in underserved populations. While our findings contribute to understanding the impact of social determinants in oral cancer, more studies are still needed that investigate the relationship between other sociodemographic factors that affect oral health in PWH.

Citation Format: Carlos A. Solá-Morlá, Yabdiel Ramos-Valerio, Coral Martes-Villalobos, María M. Sánchez-Vázquez, Ramón F. Gonzalez-García, Ana P. Ortiz, Magaly Martinez-Ferrer, Josué Pérez-Santiago. Social determinants associated with HPV disparities among people with HIV infection in Puerto Rico [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 16th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2023 Sep 29-Oct 2;Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2023;32(12 Suppl):Abstract nr B130.