Non-Invasive Imaging for the Diagnosis of Genital Warts and Their Imitators

Abstract

Genital warts are the most frequent sexually transmitted disease. Their clinical diagnosis is not always easy, and invasive skin biopsies for histological examination should be performed in these cases. The aim of the study was to investigate the use of non-invasive imaging techniques for the diagnosis of genital warts and their imitators. We retrospectively evaluated dermoscopy, reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM), and line-filed confocal microscopy (LC-OCT) images of nine patients with 19 warts of the mucous membranes and five patients with lesions that clinically mimic genital warts, including 12 molluscum contagiosum, 1 Fordyce’s spot and one case of multiple acquired lymphangiomas. Most genital warts (15; 79%) showed dilated vessels surrounded by a whitish halo at dermoscopy. RCM and the new device LC-OCT could identify near histologic features such as the presence of hyperkeratosis, acanthosis, papillomatosis and enlarged vessels in all genital warts. However, the identification of koilocytes, which are the hallmark for the diagnosis of warts, was still difficult using both techniques. Non-invasive imaging techniques could also offer clues for the correct diagnosis of the imitators. This study confirmed the usefulness of dermoscopy in recognizing a precise pattern in warts and showed the potential use of RCM and LC-OCT to add additional findings to the clinical and dermoscopic examination.