Background:
Sinonasal papillomas are rare tumors arising from the Schneiderian membrane. They
are divided into three groups: the largest group are inverted papillomas (IP), followed
by fungiform (exophytic) (FP) and oncocytic papillomas (OCP). Human papillomaviruses
(HPV) infect differentiating skin and mucosal cells and can induce uncontrolled growth.
Aim and methods: HPV infection as a risk factor for development of Schneiderian papillomas
was investigated in a monocentric, retrospective study.
Results:
Patients in this study displayed higher HPV infections rates in IP (61.2%) and in
FP (100%) than in healthy mucosa (0% [1] to 13% [2]). Ratio of HPV-positive IP decreased
with advanced tumor stages: 100% HPV positivity of T1 IP (2/2), 40.9% of T2 IP (9/22),
and 35.7% of T3 IP (20/56). Most commonly detected HPV types were HPV 6, 11, and 16;
however, patients in this study also displayed HPV types that have rarely been described
in sinonasal papillomas before, such as HPV 58, 42, 83, and 91.
Conclusions:
HPV infection is probably important for formation and/or perpetuation of sinonasal
papillomas. However, the subset of HPV genotypes involved in Schneiderian papillomas
appears to differ from the subset in anogenital lesions.
[1] Weiner, J S et al. 1999, 'Relationship of human papillomavirus to Schneiderian
papillomas.'
[2] Jenko, K et al., 'In inverted papillomas HPV more likely represents incidental
colonization than an etiological factor.'
