Detection of Human Papillomavirus DNA and State of p53 Gene in Japanese Penile Cancer

The frequency of integration with human papillomavirus (HPV)and its genotypes in Japanese penile cancer was examined withrelation to p53 gene mutations using polymerase chain reactionamplification. Tissues were obtained from 13 patients (eightfrom freshly frozen and five from paraffin-embedded samples).HPV DNA was detected in seven out of the 13 (54%), and theirgenotypes were type 16 in four, type 31 in one and type 33 intwo cases. Neither HPV-detected nor -undetected tissues showedmutated alterations in exons 4-9 of p53 genes. The results suggestHPV to be, at least to some extent, involved in the oncogenesisof penile cancer, and that p53 gene mutations may not correlatewith the development of penile cancer.