SCC of the Vulva Associated with HPV Infection

Almost 900 patients died of vulvar carcinoma in 2007. As in cervical cancer, infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) has been shown to be important in the etiology of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of this organ. However, the oncogenic risk of individual HPV types differs. These authors performed a retrospective study of 37 anogenital HPV genotypes in patients with invasive SCC of the vulva.

Of 116 patients, 81 (70%) were HPV-positive (average patient age, 65); the 35 patients who did not have HPV infection were older (average age, 70) but otherwise similar. Using DNA from the invasive component of the tumor, the authors tested for 37 high-risk and low-risk anogenital HPV types. Alone or in combination with other genotypes, HPV-16 was found…