Chromosomal analysis of recurrent laryngeal papillomas

Recurrent laryngeal papillomas are tumors believed to be induced by human papillomaviruses. Severity of this disease varies due to the unpredictability of clinical remissions and recurrences. However, the severity of the disease does not affect the classification of these tumors as benign, and the rate of spontaneous conversion of recurrent laryngeal papillomas to carcinomas is very low. Laryngeal papillomas from six patients were evaluated cytogenetically after short-term culture. All six specimens were chromosomally normal, consistent with their classification as benign tumors with a low rate of malignant conversion. The presence of human papillomaviruses has no detectable effect on the chromosomes of these tumors.