Detection of human papillomavirus type 33 DNA in extragenital Bowen's disease with the polymerase chain reaction.

BACKGROUND

Data on the association of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection with extragenital Bowen's disease are very scarce.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the prevalence of HPV infection in extragenital Bowen's disease showing histologically a number of koilocytes in the lesional epidermis, we studied formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues of 9 such cases.

METHODS

HPV DNA was studied in such samples by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and in situ hybridization.

RESULTS

Despite negative results with in situ hybridization, the PCR with HPV type 33 primer detected the presence of virus DNA in 2 out of 9 cases.

CONCLUSION

As far as we know, this is the first report of the detection of HPV type 33 DNA in the lesional skin of extragenital Bowen's disease. The prevalence of HPV infection in extragenital Bowen's disease may be higher than expected, especially in cases histologically showing many koilocytes in the lesional epidermis.