Human papillomavirus-16 DNA in a cutaneous invasive cancer

A middle-aged man with a 20-year history of a warty lesion on his finger was diagnosed histologically as having an invasive carcinoma at that location. Molecular analysis of the lesion showed that human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA was present in this tumor. Under stringent hybridization conditions, only HPV-16 DNA, which is commonly associated with genital neoplasia or cutaneous bowenoid lesions, was detected. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis revealed that various sections of the tumor contained mostly episomal viral DNA; but in one case, low levels of integrated HPV-16 DNA were detected as well.