Detection of HPV 6 and 11 in tumours of the upper respiratory tract using the polymerase chain reaction.

We have applied the polymerase chain-reaction (PCR) technique to benign and malignant squamous tumours of the pharynx and larynx and to nasal inverted papillomas to detect evidence of infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) 6 and 11. Each of these lesions tended to be infected with either or both of these but the prevalence of infection when compared with that of histologically normal biopsies from the nasopharynx was not significantly increased.