A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: Evaluation of the β-Human Papillomavirus in Immunosuppressed Individuals with Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Some types of beta-human papillomavirus (β-HPV) may be one of the probable causes of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in transplant recipients. β-HPVs are linked to SCC in the literature with small number of subjects. AIM: Herein, the first meta-analysis was carried out on the association between β-HPVs and cutaneous SCC in immunosuppressed patients. METHODS: A systematic search was carried out in the PubMed and Scopus databases up to December 2018. The odds ratio (OR) were calculated by RevMan 5.3 software and the event rate (ER) by Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 2.0 software with a 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: A total of 1250 records were identified through the two databases, but at last eleven studies were included in the meta-analysis that they were published from 1989 to 2018. The results showed a significantly high prevalence of β-HPVs in cutaneous SCC patients (ER = 69.1%; 95%CI: 58.7%, 77.8%). In addition, the prevalence of overall β-HPVs and β-HPVs of 5, 8, 9, 17, 49, 75, and 76 in immunosuppressed cutaneous SCC patients was significantly higher compared with controls. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the present meta-analysis support the hypothesis that β-HPV may play a role in cutaneous SCC development in immunosuppressed individuals.