Human papillomavirus type 6a DNA in the lung carcinoma of a patient with recurrent laryngeal papillomatosis is characterized by a partial duplication.

Transcriptionally active human papillomavirus type 6a (HPV-6a) DNA was detected in a lung carcinoma of a patient with recurrent laryngeal papillomatosis. The carcinoma contained episomal HPV-6a genomes that had a duplication of the upstream regulatory region, the late region and a portion of the early region. HPV-6a genomes found in benign laryngeal papillomas from the same patient did not contain this duplication. A role for the mutant molecules in the pathogenesis of the malignancy is suggested.