Human papillomavirus in various lesions of the head and neck.

The association of human papillomavirus with benign and malignant epithelial lesions of the head and neck has been studied by a peroxidase-antiperoxidase technique having immunospecificity against genus-specific structural antigens of the papillomaviruses. More than 360 specimen blocks from 144 patients were evaluated. There was evidence of human papillomavirus antigen in three out of eight patients with childhood-onset laryngeal papillomas (37.5%) and in four out of eight patients with adult-onset papillomas (50%). A patient with an unusual flat, wartlike lesion appearing as an oral cavity leukoplakia had detectable papillomavirus antigen in it. None of the 13 cases of inverting papilloma or any of the malignant lesions studied showed evidence for the presence of papillomavirus antigen. There is currently only suggestive evidence for the oncogenic potential of human papillomavirus in the head and neck.