Human papillomavirus type 16 DNA in genital tumours: a pathological and molecular analysis

The presence of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) DNA in 34 genital tract tumours of Italian female patients was investigated by Southern blot hybridization in high stringency conditions. HPV16 DNA was detected in 16 neoplasias, including cervical invasive and intraepithelial lesions as well as vulvar intraepithelial neoplasias and, to a lesser extent, vulvar invasive carcinomas. Appropriate control tissues included in the study were negative. The data suggest that integration of viral DNA had occurred in most tumours, both in invasive and in intraepithelial lesions. HPV16 variants or defective genomes, lacking the BamHI restriction site, were detected in three tumours.