Background: Viral infection was suggested to be etiologically involved in skin tumor development. Data on the association of human papillomavirus (HPV) with keratoacanthomas are still conflicting. Objective: Analysis of HPV infection in keratoacanthomas of the general population. Methods: HPV DNA was detected by nested PCR. To include a broad range of both cutaneous and mucosal HPV types, HPV PCR was performed with two sets of degenerate primers. Results: Considering only β-globin-positive specimens, HPV DNA was detected in 20% of the specimens obtained from 18% of the patients. The spectrum of HPV types detected contains HPV types 6, 14, 16, 35, 58 and 61. In 1 case, the underlying HPV type was not identified. In 1 specimen with transition towards squamous-cell carcinoma, HPV 16 was detected. Conclusions: HPV is probably not generally associated with the etiology of keratoacanthoma but may be relevant in individual cases. Oncogenic HPV types may be cofactors for malignant transformation of initially benign skin lesions like keratoacanthomas.

Keywords:
Keratoacanthoma, Skin tumor, Human papillomavirus (HPV)
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