Human papillomavirus typing of penile condyloma

Infection with human papillomavirus has been identified as a significant risk factor for the development of cervical neoplasia. Knowledge of the characteristics of infecting human papillomavirus in male patients is lacking. We studied 37 men who presented with genital condyloma to identify the clinical appearance of the lesion, histological features and human papillomavirus type as determined by deoxyribonucleic acid molecular hybridization analysis. Of the patients 32 had penile shaft condyloma: 23 noticed the lesion themselves and 9 presented because the partner had condyloma. An adequate amount of deoxyribonucleic acid was available for analysis in 26 men. Lesions were caused by human papillomavirus types 6, 11 and 31, and uncharacterized types. Five patients had penile shaft and urethral condyloma. In 4 patients infection was caused by more than 1 type or subtype. Neither clinical nor histological features could reliably predict the infecting human papillomavirus type.