A cardiac allograft recipient with Bowen's disease on a finger and concurrent perianal bowenoid papulosis

We report a patient who developed Bowen's disease of the finger and bowenoid papulosis of the perianal area after cardiac transplantation. Human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 only, not any skin-related or epidermodysplasia verruciformis-related types, was detected in both lesions by in situ hybridization and polymerase chain reaction. The same virus type was identified in both the tumor of the finger and the perianal area, which suggests contact transmission. HPV 16 has often been associated with malignant changes and may be at least one source of the malignancies that are more common in immunosuppressed patients. The presence of a potentially oncogenic type of the HPV in an immunosuppressed patient highlights the importance of regular follow-up of such patients.