The management of oral human papillomavirus with topical cidofovir: a case report

Cidofovir, a purine nucleotide analog of cytosine, has showed significant promise against a number of DNA viruses. In 1997, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the use of cidofovir intravenously in the treatment of cytomegalovirus retinitis in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Recent studies and reports suggest that a topical form of cidofovir may be useful for treating viral cutaneous lesions recalcitrant to traditional treatments. We report the case of a 36-year-old man with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and recalcitrant human papillomavirus (HPV) lesions on the gingiva that were successfully treated with cidofovir gel 1%.