Human Papilloma Virus in Retinoblastoma Tissues from Korean Patients

Purpose: Recent reports suggest the association of human papilloma virus (HPV) with retinoblastoma. This study was performed to elucidate whether HPV infection is related to retinoblastoma among Koreans. Methods: A total of 54 cases diagnosed with retinoblastoma were enrolled from Seoul National University Children’s Hospital and Seoul Metropolitan Government- Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center. Presence of human papilloma viral DNA was detected by in situ hybridization in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded retinoblastoma tissues using both probes against high- and low risk HPV types. Results: The mean age at diagnosis was 22.0 months (range, 1.1 to 98.0 months), and the mean age at enucleation was 27.8 months (range, 1.5 to 112.7 months) among the 54 patients with retinoblastoma. HPV was not detected in any of the retinoblastoma samples using either high risk or low risk HPV probes. Conclusions: Our study, being the first study in the Korean population, proposes that HPV infection may have no causal relationship with retinoblastoma in Koreans.