Papillary
and verruciform epithelial proliferations are quite common in the oral and paraoral region, representing at least 3% of biopsied oral lesions. Many are thought to be induced by viral infection of the epithelium, especially from human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV encompasses a group of double-stranded DNA viruses of the papovavirus subgroup A capable of integration with host DNA. At the present time there are more than 68 known HPV subtypes, many associated with lesions of the head and neck. These viruses often can be identified by in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques, but are seldom visible with routine histopathologic staining.
similar lesion