Failure to detect human papillomavirus DNA in malignant epithelial neoplasms of conjunctiva by polymerase chain reaction

To elucidate the putative role of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in the etiology of conjunctival tumors, 44 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens of conjunctival tumors (24 patients with papillomas and 20 patients with dysplastic and/or malignant tumors) were screened for HPV infection using 4 different polymerase chain reactions (PCRs). Of the 24 samples of papilloma, 14 (58%) displayed positive results by applying nested PCR using primer sets of HPV consensus L1 region. HPV type 6 or 11 was detected in 9 cases of papilloma by type-specific primer sets, but none of them were positive for HPV type 16 or 18. However, by using the highly sensitive PCR technique, we failed to demonstrate the HPV DNA of HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18 in any of the 20 malignant epithelial tumors of conjunctiva. We conclude that HPV-6 or HPV-11 is present in a substantial percentage of conjunctival papillomas, which is in accordance with findings of previously reported studies. In contrast, malignant conjunctival carcinomas are not associated with HPV infection; other pathogenic mechanisms, such as UV light, probably are more important in the cause of these malignant lesions.