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Objectives High-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) types have been linked with genital carcinomas. However, the exact relation between HPV and erythroplasia of Queyrat (EQ), for example, in-situ carcinoma of the glans and prepuce, is still unclear. Thw aim of this study was to detect the presence of lesional HPV-DNA in patients with EQ. Methods Paraffin-embedded biopsies were obtained from the glans or inner foreskin of 11 adult uncircumcised patients (mean age 67.7 years; range 57-79) with EQ. An equal number of randomly selected uncircumcised healthy control patients underwent a single brush cytology smear of the penile mucosa. Biopsy specimens and brushings were then assayed by a highly sensitive two-step nested PCR technique based on MY11/MY09 consensus primers and general GP5+/GP6+ PCR primers, followed by cycle sequencing. Statistical evaluation was performed using conditional logistic regression analysis. Results None of the EQ or control samples proved to be positive for the presence of HPV-DNA. Conclusions The findings do not support the hypothesis that there is a considerable risk of EQ development in patients with HPV infection. The prevalence of HPV infection in patients with EQ has rarely been investigated and available data are relatively scant and controversial. Therefore, the relation between HPV infection and the risk of progression of EQ into squamous cell carcinoma remains a matter of debate, and further investigations are needed in order to confirm the role of HPV in delineating this risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]