Objectives: Focal epithelial hyperplasia (FEH), also known as Heck's disease, is a rare disease of the oral cavity especially in Asia. It is a disease of children and young adults. Since histopathologic features are not specific, diagnosis is based on clinical findings. Various causes have been implicated but it seems that infection with human papilloma viruses (HPV) has a major role. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a useful tool to identify HPV in FEH lesions because it is a rapid and sensitive method. This study was designed to determine special HPV subtypes in patients with FEH by PCR.
Method: Paraffin sections of seven patients clinically diagnosed as FEH with compatible histhopathological features underwent DNA extraction procedures for PCR examination. Initially all specimens were tested for presence of HPV virus, followed by specific PCR testing for 16, 18, 13 and 32 subtypes in positive samples.
Results: Except for one case, HPV was found in all samples. In four cases HPV-13 and in one case HPV-32 was positive. The next case showed strong reactivity for HPV but none of tested subtypes were positive. All cases were negative for HPV 16 &18. The last case was negative for HPV virus.
Conclusion: Similar with other studies, FEH was associated with HPV 13 and 32 in 5/7 cases, suggesting an etiologic role for these subtypes. In negative samples other subtypes or viruses can be implicated.