Detection of human papilloma virus DNA in skin tags

Human papilloma virus [HPV] has been suggested to be one of the factors involved in the pathogenesis of skin tags. This study explored the presence of HPV-DNA by polymerase chain reaction [PCR] in biopsies from lesional and perilesional skin of 30 patients and the normal skin of 20 age- and sex-matched control. The results revealed the presence of HPV-DNA in 77% of skin tags, which was statistically significant compared to perilesional skin [53%] and controls [20%]. It was, therefore, concluded that HPV virus has an important role in the pathogenesis and progression of skin tags as previously reported for laryngeal papillomas