ABSENCE OF EPSTEIN-BARR-VIRUS IN PENILE CARCINOMA - A STUDY OF 42 CASES USING IN-SITU HYBRIDIZATION

Background. The relationship between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and carc inomas of the lower female genital tract has been the focus of some st udies in recent years, However, the association between EBV and penile carcinoma never has been investigated. The aim of this study was to i dentify the possible role of EBV in penile carcinoma of Chinese patien ts. Methods. Formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tissue of 42 cases of p enile carcinoma (including 7 verrucous, 14 well differentiated, 15 mod erately differentiated, and 6 poorly differentiated squamous cell carc inomas), 6 penile warts, and 9 normal penile samples were analyzed for EBV using in situ hybridization for EBV-encoded RNA (EBER). Results. Epstein-Barr virus was only found in a few lymphocytes adjacent to the tumor epithelium in 12% (5 cases) of penile carcinoma. Conversely, th e tumor cells, penile warts, and normal penile tissue were negative fo r EBV. Conclusions. The results suggest that EBV does not play a major role in the etiology of penile carcinoma.