Human papillomavirus detection rates in Bowen disease: correlation with pelvic and digital region involvement and specific p53 immunostaining patterns.

Background: The relationship between human papillomavirus (HPV) and Bowen disease (BD) is not fully understood.

Objectives: To investigate the differences in HPV detection rates in BD samples across various body regions and analyse the expression patterns of p53, p16 and Ki-67 in relation to HPV presence.

Methods: Tissue samples from patients diagnosed with BD, confirmed through histopathology, were retrospectively collected. Next-generation sequencing was used for HPV DNA detection. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) for p16, p53 and Ki-67 was performed.

Results: Out of 109 patients with BD, 21 (19.3%) were HPV-positive. All identified types were α-HPVs, with HPV-16 being the most common. The HPV detection rate was significantly higher in the pelvic (9/13, 69%, P < 0.001) and digital (5/10, 50%, P = 0.02) areas compared with those in the other regions. HPV presence was significantly correlated with p53 negativity (P = 0.002), the p53 'non-overexpression' IHC pattern (P < 0.001) and p16-p53 immunostain pattern discordance (P < 0.001). Conversely, there was no notable association between HPV presence and p16 positivity, the p16 IHC pattern or Ki-67 expression.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest the oncogenic role of sexually transmitted and genito-digitally transmitted α-HPVs in the pathogenesis of BD in pelvic and digital regions.