Role of human papillomavirus typing in diagnosis and clinical decision making for a giant verrucous genital lesion

Abstract

A 60-year-old man presented with a 12.0 x 10.0-cm exophytic, verrucous genital plaque. Multiple biopsy specimens were evaluated by standard histologic analysis and polymerase chain reaction assays for human papillomavirus (HPV) deoxyribonucleic acid. All biopsy specimens showed histopathologic changes consistent with giant condyloma of Buschke-Lowenstein (GCBL), were uniformly positive for HPV 6/11, and showed a weaker signal for HPV 16. Published reports suggest that the presence of HPV may be useful in differentiating GCBL from verrucous carcinoma (VC), but absence of "high-risk" HPV types in GCBL cannot exclude focally invasive squamous cell carcinoma. Screening for HPV may be a helpful adjunct in differentiating GCBL from VC, but histopathologic criteria for malignancy should take precedence over HPV typing when determining management.