Absence of human papilloma virus in cervical adenocarcinoma determined by in situ hybridisation.

A few studies using DNA technology have suggested that human papillomavirus (HPV) may be an aetiological factor for adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix. Twenty one cases of cervical adenocarcinoma were studied by in situ hybridisation using biotinylated DNA probes for HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18 and a streptavidin, biotinylated alkaline phosphatase detection system. Intranuclear HPV DNA was detected in none of the adenocarcinomas, while positive controls gave a clear intranuclear signal. Adjacent areas of normal, koilocytic, and dysplastic squamous epithelium also gave positive results. It may be that squamous epithelium contaminates adenocarcinomas reported as positive by Southern blotting. Our results showing absence of detectable HPV DNA within adenocarcinomas suggest that HPV infection may not have a major role in the aetiology of adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix.