HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS IN TRANSITIONAL-CELL CARCINOMA OF THE URINARY-BLADDER

The presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) was detected in transitiona l cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder. PCR amplification of DNA from 71 tumors, using consensus primers for a fragment of the L1 gene, det ected 6 strongly positive tumors (through ethidium bromide staining of a gel) and 22 moderately positive tumors (through Southern blotting o f the amplified DNA) for a total of 28 (39%) of the tumors. The presen ce of HPV was correlated with grade but not stage of the tumors. Typin g of HPV was performed on 31 tumors: all positive tumors contained HPV 16 DNA except for one Ta tumor which contained HPV 11 DNA. Our data a lso showed a large variability in the sensitivity of HPV DNA detection , depending on sample fixation, DNA preparation, and amplification con ditions, which may explain in large part the discrepancies reported in the literature on the association of HPV to bladder cancer. Because o f the low HPV DNA copy number observed in bladder tumors, our results suggest that HPV should ideally be tested on fresh or frozen tumor mat erial, that SDS detergent should be avoided for the preparation of DNA , and that the amplification conditions are critical for optimal detec tion.