Mucosal oncogenic human papillomaviruses and extragenital Bowen disease

Genital Bowen disease is known to have a strong association with human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16. On the other hand, previous studies of extragenital Bowen disease (EBD) that have used different hybridization techniques have produced discordant results in the detection of mucosal oncogenic HPV.

Ninety-four samples of EBD from 78 patients were investigated clinicopathologically. DNA extracted from fixed and embedded tissues was analyzed for the presence of the main mucosal oncogenic HPV types 16, 18, 31, and 33 using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with specific primers described in 1996 by Baay et al., which are particularly well adapted to fixed tissues and give small amplimers. Moreover, 11 EBD of the hands were investigated by in situ hybridization (ISH).

Of the 94 extragenital BD obtained from 78 patients, HPV DNA type 16 was detected in 78 cases (83%) from 65 patients (83.3%) by PCR. Nine patients with EBD of the hands (90%) had HPV type 16, and ISH displayed a diffuse hybridization pattern that corresponded to the episomal viral form of HPV DNA.

The current retrospective study of 94 samples clearly demonstrates the high prevalence of HPV type 16 infection in EBD, especially in EBD of the hands. In this study, no specific clinical, topographic, or histopathologic features of any lesions were found to be indicative of the presence or absence of HPV.