Clinical, histopathological and virological findings in patients with focal epithelial hyperplasia from Colombia

BACKGROUND: Focal epithelial hyperplasia (FEH) is a rare oral HPV-related disease, highly prevalent in certain ethnic communities. A previous study found 7.5% prevalence among school children from the Indian community Embera-Chami in Colombia. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and Human Papillomavirus (HPVs)-type in children with FEH. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and thirty-eight students were screened. All FEH samples were HPV-tested by two PCR-based systems. RESULTS: We identified 18 FEH cases. beta-globin amplification was obtained in 15 cases and nine were HPV-55-positive by the HPV-PCR-hybridization method. Nine cases (50%) were HPV-13-positive by the GP5+/GP6+-based method. Twelve cases (80%) were HPV-positive by one or the other method. Forty-four percent and 88% of interviewed parents reported family histories of FEH and toothbrush sharing, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Human Papillomavirus-DNA was identified in the majority of FEH cases and HPV-13 was the only genotype involved. Frequent familiar infection suggests interfamiliar transmission, genetic predisposition or infection susceptibility among family members.