Human papillomavirus in pterygium

Between August 1991 and 1992 consecutive pterygium cases and eight normal conjunctival tissues were examined for the presence of polyclonal Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) antigen by the avidin-biotin-complex technique and 16 of the pterygium cases and 25 pc of the control conjunctivas revealed HPV positivity. In six of the HPV positive pterygium tissues, there were also an epithelial proliferation. In conclusion, HPV infection was not endemic, but sporadic in Cukurova region, and it may be contributed to development of pterygium. In addition, because it is seen together with six cases of epithelial hyperplasia, it seems to play an important role in the development of neoplasia and such patients need to be followed up for possible malignant transformation.