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.