Human papillomavirus types 16 and 39 in a vulval carcinoma occurring in a woman with Hailey-Hailey disease.

A woman with Hailey-Hailey disease, suffering from carcinoma of the vulva, was examined by histology and for the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and in situ hybridization. Our diagnosis by histological examination revealed the vulval carcinoma to be a squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), adjacent to lesions of Hailey-Hailey disease and severe dysplasia/carcinoma in situ [vulval intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) III]. The PCR with consensus primers for the L1 region (L1-PCR) successfully amplified HPV DNA using total DNA extracted from formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue specimens. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and sequencing of L1-PCR products revealed HPV types 16 and 39. HPV 16-specific primers for the E6 region identified HPV 16 DNA. In situ hybridization analysis with biotinylated HPV 16 and 39 DNA probes revealed the presence of the HPV 39 genome in the nuclei of the tumour cells in the SCC. These results indicate that HPV 16 and 39 are associated with lesions in vulval carcinoma. Regarding the patient's susceptibility to infection in the case of Hailey-Hailey disease, there is a possibility that HPV was inoculated into the lesions of Hailey-Hailey disease and induced those of VIN III and SCC.