Background: Venipuncture (phlebotomy) is an obstacle to subject recruitment and ongoing participation in cohort studies investigating human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Anti-HPV antibodies are not only detected in serum but also in oral fluid.
Objectives: To evaluate if oral fluid specimens can be used in lieu of blood specimens for determining HPV antibody status.
Study design: One hundred and seven paired oral fluid and blood specimens from female university students were tested in a HPV16 ELISA and compared to sexual history and serial genital HPV16 DNA status.
Results: ELISA results were in agreement in 97% (104/107) of paired sera and oral fluid. Of six women with positive anti-HPV16 serum samples, only three had positive oral fluid specimens. However, the specificity of the oral fluid test was 100% compared to the blood test.
Conclusions: Detection of antibodies in oral fluid correlated with antibodies but was less sensitive than sera. A larger validation study is required to fully characterize the oral fluid assay.