DESCRIPTION: The BROTHERS study, a project of the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN), aimed to see if certain strategies can show promise for slowing down the spread of HIV among Black men who have sex with men (Black MSM). Another aim is to better understand the men’s lives and how that relates to HIV risk.

OUTCOMES: The overall rate of new HIV infection among Black MSM in this study was 2.8% per year, a rate that is nearly 50% higher than in White MSM in the U.S. Even more alarming, HPTN061 found that young Black MSM—those 30 years of age and younger—acquired HIV infection at a rate of 5.9% per year, three times the rate among US White MSM. The overall infection rate among Black MSM in this US study is comparable to the rate seen in the general populations of countries in sub-Saharan Africa hardest hit by the HIV epidemic. Further results can be found here.

The following publications have since been released using data gathered from the HPTN061 Study:

1. Koblin, B., Mayer K., Eshleman, S., Wang, L., Mannheimer, S., del Rio, C., Shoptaw, S., Magnus, M., Buchbinder, S., Wilton, L., Ting-Yuan, L., Cummings, V., Piwowar-Manning, E., Fields, S., Griffith, S., Elharrar, V., Wheeler, D., for the HPTN 061 Protocol Team. Correlates of HIV acquisition in a cohort of black men who have sex with men in the United States: HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 061. PLoS ONE 8(7): e70413. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0070413

2. Dyer, T.P., Regan, R., Wilton, L., Harawa, N.T., Ou, S.S., Wang, L., Shoptaw, S. Differences in substance use, psychosocial characteristics and HIV-related sexual risk behavior between black men who have sex with men only (BMSMO) and black men who have sex with men and women (BMSMW) in six US cities. Journal of Urban Health. 2013 Jul 30 (Epub ahead of print) PMCID: PMC in progress.

3. Marzinke MA, Clarke W, Wang L, Cummings V, Liu TY, Piwowar-Manning E, Breaud A, Griffith S, Buchbinder S, Shoptaw S, del Rio C, Magnus M, Mannheimer S, Fields SD, Mayer KH, Wheeler DP, Koblin BA, Eshleman SH, Fogel JM . Nondisclosure of HIV status in a clinical trial setting: antiretroviral drug screening can help distinguish between newly diagnosed and previously diagnosed HIV infection. Clin Infect Dis. 2014, 58: 117-20

4. Harawa N, Wilton L, Wang L, Mao C, Kuo I, Penniman T, Shoptaw S, Griffith S, Williams JK, Cummings V, Mayer K, Koblin B; HPTN 061 Study Team, Koblin B, HPTN 061 Study Team . Types of Female Partners Reported by Black Men Who Have Sex with Men and Women (MSMW) and Associations with Intercourse Frequency, Unprotected Sex and HIV and STI Prevalence. AIDS Behav. 2014, 18: 1548-59

5. Chen I, Cummings V, Fogel JM, Marzinke MA, Clarke W, Connor MB, Griffith S, Buchbinder S, Shoptaw S, Rio CD, Magnus M, Mannheimer S, Wheeler DP, Mayer KH, Koblin BA, Eshleman SH. Low-level Viremia Early in HIV Infection. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2014, 67: 405-8

6. Chen I, Connor MB, Clarke W, Marzinke MA, Cummings V, Breaud A, Fogel JM, Laeyendecker O, Fields SD, Donnell D, Griffith S, Scott HM, Shoptaw S, Rio CD, Magnus M, Mannheimer S, Wheeler DP, Mayer KH, Koblin BA, Eshleman SH . Antiretroviral drug use and HIV drug resistance among HIV-infected Black men who have sex with men: HIV Prevention Trials Network 061. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2015

7. Williams JK, Wilton L, Magnus M, Wang L, Wang J, Dyer TP, Koblin BA, Hucks-Ortiz C, Fields SD, Shoptaw S, Stephenson R, O’Cleirigh C, Cummings V; HIV Prevention Trials Network 061 Study Team . Relation of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Intimate Partner Violence, and Depression to Risk Factors for HIV Among Black Men Who Have Sex With Men in 6 US Cities. Am J Public Health. 2015, 105: 2473-81

8. Chen I, Huang W, Connor MB, Frantzell A, Cummings V, Beauchamp GG, Griffith S, Fields SD, Scott HM, Shoptaw S, Del Rio C, Magnus M, Mannheimer S, Tieu HV, Wheeler DP, Mayer KH, Koblin BA, Eshleman SH . CXCR4-using HIV variants in a cohort of Black men who have sex with men: HIV Prevention Trials Network 061. HIV Clin Trials. 2016, 17: 158-64

9. Levy ME, Phillips G 2nd, Magnus M, Kuo I, Beauchamp G, Emel L, Hucks-Ortiz C, Hamilton EL, Wilton L, Chen I, Mannheimer S, Tieu HV, Scott H, Fields SD, Del Rio C, Shoptaw S, Mayer K . A Longitudinal Analysis of Treatment Optimism and HIV Acquisition and Transmission Risk Behaviors Among Black Men Who Have Sex with Men in HPTN 061. AIDS and Behavior. 2017, 21: 2958-2972

10. Dyer, T. V., Khan, M. R., Regan, R., Harawa, N. T., Nelson, L. E., Wilton, L., Wang, L., Peng, L., Ou, S. S., Shoptaw, S. . Differential Patterns of Risk and Vulnerability Suggest the Need for Novel Prevention Strategies for Black Bisexual Men in the HPTN 061 Study. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2018, 78: 491-498

11. Chen I, Zhang Y, Cummings V, Cloherty GA, Connor M, Beauchamp G, Griffith S, Rose S, Gallant J, Scott HM, Shoptaw S, Del Rio C, Kuo I, Mannheimer S, Tieu HV, Hurt CB, Fields SD, Wheeler DP, Mayer KH, Koblin BA, Eshleman SH . Analysis of HIV Integrase Resistance in Black Men Who Have Sex with Men in the United States. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 2017, 33: 745-748

12. Chen I, Chau G, Wang J, Clarke W, Marzinke MA, Cummings V, Breaud A, Laeyendecker O, Fields SD, Griffith S, Scott HM, Shoptaw S, Del Rio C, Magnus M, Mannheimer S, Tieu HV, Wheeler DP, Mayer KH, Koblin BA, Eshleman SH . Analysis of HIV Diversity in HIV-Infected Black Men Who Have Sex with Men (HPTN 061). PLoS One. 2016, 11: e0167629

13. Hermanstyne KA, Green HD Jr, Tieu HV, Hucks-Ortiz C, Wilton L, Shoptaw S . The Association Between Condomless Anal Sex and Social Support Among Black Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM) in Six U.S. Cities: A Study Using Data from the HIV Prevention Trials Network BROTHERS Study (HPTN 061). AIDS Behav. 2019, 23: 1387-1395

14. Koblin BA, Mayer KH, Eshleman SH, Wang L, Mannheimer S, del Rio C, Shoptaw S, Magnus M, Buchbinder S, Wilton L, Liu TY, Cummings V, Piwowar-Manning E, Fields SD, Griffith S, Elharrar V, Wheeler D, for the HPTN 061 Protocol Team . Correlates of HIV Acquisition in a Cohort of Black Men Who Have Sex with Men in the United States: HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 061. PLoS One. 2013, 8: e70413

15. Hermanstyne KA, Green HD Jr., Cook R, Tieu HV, Dyer TV, Hucks-Ortiz C, Wilton L, Latkin C, Shoptaw S . Social Network Support and Decreased Risk of Seroconversion in Black MSM: Results of the BROTHERS (HPTN 061) Study. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2018, 78: 163-168