OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between fragile histidine triad (FHIT) depletion and human papillomavirus (HPV) status in the vulvar squamous cell carcinomas (VSCC). METHODS Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expression of FHIT protein in 42 cases of VSCC and 10 cases of normal vulvar tissues. PCR was used to detect HPV infection status. We analyzed the relationship of the expression of FHIT protein between the 2 groups: HPV positive and HPV negative, as well as the clinically pathological characteristics.RESULTS The expression of FHIT was positive in all normal vul-var tissues, and 71.4% was depletion in VSCC (P < 0.01). Abnormal expression of FHIT was significantly correlated with pathological grade (P < 0.05). There was a significant difference between FHIT depletion and HPV infection based on the statistial analysis (P <0.05).CONCLUSION The FHIT depletion is related to occurrence and development of VSCC, and the abnormal expression of FHIT significantly correlates with HPV infection.