Role of papillomaviruses.

Introduction Papillomaviruses are a heterogeneous group of DNA viruses which occur predominantly in squamous epithelium, causing hyperplastic, papillomatous, and verrucous squamous epithelial lesions in man and in a wide range of animals. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection has been reported in several body sites, such as anogenital tract, urethra, skin, larynx, tracheobronchial mucosa, nasal cavity and paranasal sinus, mouth, and oesophagus.'3 Strong evidence over the past few years has implicated an aetiological role for HPV infection in the development of intraepithelial neoplasia and squamous cell carcinoma, particularly in the lower genital tract and in the larynx, and epidermodysplasia verruciformis. 13 This evidence has come from different sources, such as animal experiments, epidemiological surveys, clinical observations and molecular biological studies. The purpose of this paper is to summarise briefly this evidence.