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Subject Area

Internal Medicine

Article Type

Original Study

Abstract

Background Skin tags (STs) are flesh-colored, pedunculated growths, with a smooth surface. The etiology of STs is still obscured. Human papillomavirus (HPV), a small DNA virus of papovavirus family, has been implicated in the causation of STs. Objective To detect the relationship between HPV skin infection and STs. Patients and methods Patients with STs (n = 80) and age-matched and sex-matched healthy controls (n = 40) were enrolled in this case–control study. From each patient, one skin biopsy was taken from STs lesions and another one from the perilesional skin (5 cm away from STs), and from each control, site-matched punch skin biopsy was taken. PCR was used to detect HPV DNA in every tested sample. Results HPV positivity showed a significant stepwise upregulation from normal skin (4, 10%), passing by STs perilesional (10, 12.5%) and ended by STs lesional (38, 47.5%) specimens (P < 0.001). Conclusion HPV has a role in the pathogenesis of STs. Therefore, using of antiviral or immunotherapy may help in STs management program.

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