Detection of human papillomavirus DNA in colorectal adenomas
J. Y. Cheng, L. F. Sheu, J. C. Lin and C. L. Meng
Department of Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the presence of different types of human
papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in colorectal adenomas. DESIGN: The extracted DNA
of 109 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections of colorectal
adenomas were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot
hybridization. The correlations of HPV types 6, 11, 16, 18, and 33 DNA with
the histological patterns of adenomas were also analyzed. RESULTS: Human
papillomavirus DNA was detected in 28% of the adenomas. There were eight
(21%) of 38 in tubular adenomas, 13 (33%) of 40 in tubulovillous adenomas,
and 10 (32%) of 31 in villous adenomas. All HPV-6/11-positive cases were
tubular or tubulovillous adenomas. However, most HPV-16 infections (8/12)
were seen in villous adenomas. Human papillomavirus-positive adenomas
included three (8%) of 38 that showed mild dysplasia, 10 (25%) of 40 that
showed moderate dysplasia, and 18 (58%) of 31 that showed severe dysplasia.
CONCLUSION: The association of the histological type with HPV-16 and the
association of the grade of epithelial dysplasia with HPV DNA were highly
significant. These associations support the adenoma-carcinoma hypothesis.
In addition, the results suggest that HPV infection may be an important
factor for the development of colorectal neoplasia.
