Correlation between human papillomavirus infection and bladder transitional cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND To determine the association of human papillomavirus infection (HPV) and transitional cell carcinoma (TCC). METHODS Using polymerase chain reaction, fifty-nine bladder tissue specimens of patients with transitional cell carcinoma of bladder compared with 20 bladder samples of cases with non-neoplastic disorders. RESULTS Male to female ratio was similar in the two groups (50/9 vs. 16/4, P = 0.62). Mean age was 67 +/- 10.8 years and 52 +/- 20.3 years in the case and control groups, respectively (P = 0.6). Of the 59 tissue specimens with diagnosis of transitional cell carcinoma, HPV DNA was detected in 21 (35.6%) samples, while it was present in only one sample (5%) in the control group (P = 0.008). HPV18 was the most common type of virus with the incidence rate of 17/21(81%). CONCLUSION HPV might play a causative role in transitional cell carcinoma of bladder in our geographic area.