Cutaneous human papillomavirus genotypes in different kinds of skin lesions in Argentina

Cutaneous human papillomaviruses (HPVs) comprise a large and highly heterogeneous virus group. Some of the cutaneous HPVs of the genus Beta have been suggested as a co-factor in the development of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). The aim of this study was to determine cutaneous HPV prevalence and type-specific distribution in different kinds of skin lesions from Argentine patients visiting Dermatology Departments of three hospitals from Buenos Aires. A cross-sectional analysis was performed. HPV DNA was analyzed in (i) 3 patients with Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) harboring benign lesions (BL) (n=1) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (n=4); (ii) 240 non-EV patients harboring: (a) BL (n=38), (b) Actinic Keratosis (AK) (n=83), (c) SCC (n=74), and (d) basal cell carcinoma (BCC) (n=96). Detection and genotyping of 35 cutaneous HPV DNA was carried out by BGC-PCR and GP5+/6+PCR followed by reverse line blot assay. In EV patients, Beta types were found in all lesions (5/5), including the potentially high-risk HPV types 5 and 8, mostly in multiple infections. In non-EV patients, cutaneous types were found in 50.0% of BL, 43.4% of AK, 31.1% of SCC, and 16.7% of BCC. Beta HPVs were the most frequently found in all lesions, being present in all AK and SCC cases that were positive for HPV. No type-specific correlation with lesion severity was found. In our series, a wide spectrum of cutaneous HPV types was detected in different skin lesions. A possible role for these HPVs in skin carcinogenesis deserves further study. J. Med. Virol. 89:352-357, 2017. (c) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.