Bowenoid papulosis of the male and female genitalia: risk of cervical neoplasia

Sixteen patients with bowenoid papulosis (eleven male patients with bowenoid papulosis of the penis and five female patients with bowenoid papulosis of the vulva) were studied clinically, histologically, and virologically and followed up from 12 months to 5 years. In eleven of sixteen cases of bowenoid papulosis, molecular hybridization disclosed the presence of human papillomavirus type 16. In four cases we found new, not fully characterized human papillomavirus, and in two cases, we found both human papillomavirus 16 and new human papillomavirus (double infection). The mean age of male patients was 33 years and of female patients, 31 years. The mean duration of the disease was 2.4 and 3.6 years, respectively. The lesions cleared or did not recur in eight of eleven male patients after repeated partial excisions and in two of five female patients after conservative surgery. Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (severe dysplasia) was present in three of five female patients, and human papillomavirus infection of the cervix was present in five of six sexual partners of male patients available for examination. Thus bowenoid papulosis presents a high risk for cervical neoplasia both for female patients and for sexual partners of male patients.