Evaluation of human papillomavirus infections in prostatic disease: a cross-sectional study in Iran.

BACKGROUND

The role of inflammation in prostate diseases is suggested by the presence of inflammatory cells within the prostate in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa) patients. In addition, bacterial and viral infection may lead to chronic and recurrent inflammation of the prostate. The human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are a family of sexually transmitted viruses which have been implicated in the aetiology of cervical cancer and several other malignancies. This study evaluated the frequency of HPV infection in individuals with prostatic disease in Iran.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

The study included formalin fixed paraffin- embedded tissue samples of 196 primary prostate cases, including 29 PCa and 167 BPH samples. HPV DNA was purified and amplified through MY09/MY11 and GP5+/GP6+ primers with nested PCR. All patients were interviewed using a questionnaire to collect demographic information.

RESULTS

Nested PCR showed that HPV DNA was found in 17.2 percent of PCa samples and 4.8 percent of BPH samples (not significant).

CONCLUSIONS

Our data do not support a significant role of HPV infection in prostatic disease in Iranian patients, but demographic data indicated a probable association between presence of HPV DNA and risk of inflammation in prostate tissue which might lead to prostate carcinoma. Further studies are required to elucidate any roles of HPV infection in prostatic disease.