Immunohistochemical demonstration of papillomavirus structural antigen in urinary bladder papillary tumors

Clear cells with characteristic features of koilocytotic atypia (perinuclear clear zone, peripheral cytoplasmic condensation and hyperchromatic nuclei), were found in 35 out of 744 urothelial papillary tumors (UPT) of the human bladder. Using a peroxidase-antiperoxidase staining technique, papillomavirus common structural antigen was detected in six of the samples studied. The results suggests that urinary bladder tumors like some other genital cancer, may be linked to papillomavirus infection.