Abstract

One hundred twelve cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) were reviewed to detect the condylomatous lesion characterized by koilocytotic cells. Condylomatous lesions were present in 12 cases (30.8%) of 39 cases with mild dysplasia, 3 cases (15.0%) of 20 moderate dysplasia, 2 cases (13.3%) of 15 severe dysplasia and 4 cases (10.5%) of 38 cases with carcinoma in situ. These 21 cases with condylomatous lesions were subjected to the study on demonstration of human papillomavirus (HPV) antigen with peroxidase antiperoxidase reaction and 6 simple condylomatous lesions of the uterine cervix were included for control. Twenty seven cases with simple cervical condyloma and condylomatous lesions associated revealed 22 cases of flat type, 3 cases of exophytic type, 1 spiked type, and 1 inverted type. Cells showing a positive reaction for HPV antigen were identified in 5 cases (55.6%) of 27 cases with condylomatous lesions. HPV antigen positive nuclei were found chiefly in koilocytotic cells. The prevalence of HPV antigen positive cells was well correlated with the extent and intraepithelial level of the koilocytotic changes. The results of this study provide a confirmation of the presence of HPV antigens in CIN, and suggest that the HPV may be an important factor in the etiology of CIN.