HPV-16-Positive Anal and Penile Carcinomas in a Young Man — Anogenital ‘Field Effect’ in the Immunosuppressed Male?

Abstract

This report presents the unusual occurrence of metachronous perianal and penile carcinomas in a young, immunosuppressed man. Both anogenital cancers were HPV-6-DNA-positive by the polymerase chain reaction. DNA in situ hybridization analysis of the penile carcinoma revealed HPV-16 in most neoplastic cells. HPV-16 appears to have played a central role in both anogenital cancers in this patient, suggesting that, like in immunologically susceptible women, a carcinogenic ‘field effect’ may exist in the anogenital area of the immunosuppressed male