HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUSES - A STUDY OF THEIR PREVALENCE IN THE EPITHELIAL HYPERPLASTIC LESIONS OF THE LARYNX

This study investigated the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) i nfection in various laryngeal epithelial hyperplastic lesions using th e Kambic classification from simple hyperplasia to invasive squamous c ell carcinoma. For detection of HPV infection polymerase chain reactio n (PCR) with 3 different HPV consensus primer sets and in situ hybridi zation were used. The presence of the HPV DNA was detected in only 2 o f the 88 specimens tested: HPV type 6 was detected in 1 case of simple hyperplasia and HPV type 16 in 1 case of invasive squamous cell carci noma. In conclusion, our study suggests that most laryngeal epithelial hyperplastic lesions are not associated with HPV infection and that o ther pathogenic mechanisms are more important in the etiology of these lesions.