Human papillomavirus infection affects treatment outcomes and the immune microenvironment in patients with advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma receiving programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitor-based combination therapy.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection may induce better objective response rate, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) for advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) patients receiving first-line programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitor-based combination therapy (PCT) instead of multi-line PCT. HPV infection-induced PFS advantage occurs at an early stage (within 3 months) whereas OS superiority occurs at a relatively late stage (within 9 months). Antitumor immune microenvironment could be stimulated by HPV infection in advanced PSCC tissues.