Aim: To determine the immunoreactive pattern of human papillomavirus (HPV) antigen and p53 protein in condylomata acuminatum (CA) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of penis.
Methods: Immunohistochemistry for HPV and p53 were performed in 40 specimens of formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tissues using a polyclonal (rabbit) antibody against HPV and a monoclonal (mouse) antibody against human p53 protein. Twenty one cases of CA and nineteen cases of SCC were examined.
Results: HPV antigen was detected in all 21 CA and 2 penile SCC. p53 protein overexpression was observed in 12 of 19 (63%) SCC in which 6 cases were strong positive. Five of 21 CA (24%) showed low-grade p53 protein overexpression.
Conclusion: CA is related to HPV infection and some cases show p53 protein low-grade overexpression. In contrast, p53 protein overexpression is common in penile SCC, which is seldom related to HPV infection.