DETECTION OF HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS DNA IN COLORECTAL ADENOMAS

Objective: To assess the presence of different types of human papillom avirus (HPV) DNA in colorectal adenomas. Design: The extracted DNA of 109 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections of colorectal ad enomas were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot hy bridization. The correlations of HPV types 6, 11, 16, 18, and 33 DNA w ith the histological patterns of adenomas were also analyzed. Results: Human papillomavirus DNA was detected in 28% of the adenomas. There w ere eight (21%) of 38 in tubular adenomas, 13 (33%) of 40 in tubulovil lous adenomas, and 10 (32%) of 31 in villous adenomas. All HPV-6/11-po sitive cases were tubular or tubulovillous adenomas. However, most HPV -16 infections (8/12) were seen in villous adenomas. Human papillomavi rus-positive adenomas included three (8%) of 38 that showed mild dyspl asia, 10 (25%) of 40 that showed moderate dysplasia, and 18 (58%) of 3 1 that showed severe dysplasia. Conclusion: The association of the his tological type with HPV-IB and the association of the grade of epithel ial dysplasia with HPV DNA were highly significant. These associations support the adenoma-carcinoma hypothesis. In addition, the results su ggest that HPV infection may be an important factor for the developmen t of colorectal neoplasia.