Detection of human papillomavirus DNA in cancer of the urinary bladder by in situ hybridisation.

The association of the human papillomavirus (HPV) with cancer of the urinary bladder was assessed by in situ hybridisation using probes selective for HPV types 6/11 and 16/18 DNA. No hybridisation signal was detected with the type 6/11 probe on 100 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded bladder tumours sampled. However, when the same samples were hybridised with the HPV type 16/18 DNA probe, 11 of 66 (16.6%) papillary and 1 of 10 (10%) solid transitional cell carcinomas gave positive signals. These results suggest the involvement of HPV in cancer of the bladder, although the frequency of multiple HPV types in these tumours is uncertain.