A clinical, histopathologic, and molecular biologic investigation of vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia.

The spectrum of vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) was investigated with human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA probes by Southern blot hybridization technique. The results of vulvar tissue examinations from 25 patients were compared to prior genital and systemic diseases, clinical presentation, and histopathologic manifestations. The presence of HPV DNA in these lesions was largely associated with multifocality of the lesions, the presence of synchronous and metachronous multicentric genital neoplasia, and depressed immunocompetence. These findings indicate that VIN is associated with HPV and may have an infectious etiology.