Human papillomavirus 57 identified in a plantar epidermoid cyst

We report a 23-year-old Japanese man who had plantar warts on the right sole, beneath one of which an epidermoid cyst developed. On microscopic examination, an acanthotic epidermis markedly invaginated into the underlying dermis, resulting in an open epidermoid cyst. Not only the polymerase chain reaction but also an in situ hybridization detected HPV 57 DNA in the cyst. HPV 60 is the only type of HPV that has been identified in epidermoid cysts. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of an epidermoid cyst, in which a different type of virus from HPV 60 was identified. Histological features of the cyst were also different those of HPV 60-associated epidermoid cysts.