Lung Cancer Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Lung Cancer, including details on symptoms, smoking, genetics, treatment, causes.

Incidence, age at onset, and potential reasons of malignant transformation in recurrent respiratory papillomatosis patients: 20 years experience.

Gerein V, Rastorguev E, Gerein J, Draf W, Schirren J

Department of Pediatric Pathology, Institute of Pathology, University of Mainz, Germany. v.gerein@web.de

Forty-two patients with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) were accepted into a multicenter prospective study in 1983 to 1990, treated with alfa-IFN 3 MU/m 2 3 times a week and then followed-up until August 1, 2003. All the patients who had disease progression with pulmonary spread were characterized by insufficient response to IFN-therapy and detection of HPV type 11. Five patients (4/5 smokers) presented malignant transformation in lungs or nasopharynx (mean RRP duration was 27.2 +/- 8 years from RRP onset and 14.6 +/- 6.3 years from pulmonary spread until malignant transformation) with persistent RRP in larynx. The results of long-term follow-up in RRP patients with HPV 11 underline the necessity of reanalyzing the current therapy.

Published 4 March 2005 in Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg, 132(3): 392-4.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2010 Lung Cancer Research Today. All Rights Reserved.