Several recent studies have reported detection of HTLV-I genetic sequences in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) including mycosis fungoides and Sezary syndrome. The purpose of this study was to determine whether HTLV-I was detectable in lesional tissues of patients suffering from diseases known to be associated with CTCL. Thirty-five cases were obtained from diverse geographical locations including Ohio, California, Switzerland, and Japan. Six of them had concurrent CTCL. Cases were analyzed using a combination of genomic polymerase chain reaction (PCR)/ Southern blot, dot blot, and Southern blot analyses. All assays were specific for HTLV-I provirus. Sensitivity ranged from approximately 10(-6) for PCR-based studies to 10(-2) for unamplified genomic blotting. Lesional DNA from patients with lymphomatoid papulosis (fourteen cases), Hodgkin's disease (twelve cases), and CD30+ large-cell lymphoma (nine cases) was tested for the HTLV-I proviral pX region using a genomic PCR assay followed by confirmatory Southern blot analysis with a nested oligonucleotide pX probe. All cases were uniformly negative. All of the Hodgkin's disease cases, eight of the large-cell lymphoma cases, and six of the lymphomatoid papulosis cases were then subjected to dot blot analysis of genomic DNA using a full-length HTLV-I proviral DNA probe that spans all regions of the HTLV-I genome. Again, all cases were negative. Finally, eleven of the Hodgkin's disease cases were also subjected to Southern blot analysis of EcoRI-digested genomic DNA using the same full-length HTLV-I probe. Once again, all cases were negative. These findings indicated that, despite utilization of a variety of sensitive and specific molecular biological methods, HTLV-I genetic sequences were not detectable in patients with CTCL-associated lymphoproliferative disorders. These results strongly suggest that the HTLV-I retrovirus is not involved in the pathogenesis of these diseases.