TRANSITIONAL-CELL CARCINOMA OF THE BLADDER - EVALUATION OF THE ROLE OF HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUSES

Objectives. The study evaluated the conflicting results of the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the development of bladder carcinoma. M ethods. We analyzed the frequency of HPV types 6, 11, 16, 18, and 33 b y using polymerase chain reaction on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens, from 75 cases of transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder. Fifteen samples of normal urothelium adjacent to TCC (10) or from normal bladder obtained at autopsy (5) served as negative control s. Results. HPV type 16 deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was detected in 2 (2.7%) of the 75 cases of TCC and in none of the normal urinary bladde r cases. The 2 patients with HPV type 16 were immunosuppressed after u ndergoing renal and cardiac transplantation. Conclusions. These result s strongly suggest that HPVs play a minor role in the development of T CC of the bladder in the general population, although they can act as oncegenic agents in predisposed patients, such as those who are immuno suppressed.