Using Southern blot or in situ hybridization, several studies have recently reported an association between HPV 18 and adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix. In this study PCR was used to analyse the presence of HPV 16 and 18 in paraffin embedded biopsies of cervical adenocarcinoma in Northern Sweden. HPV DNA was confirmed in 11 (42%) of 26 cases. Seven (27%) were positive for HPV 18 and 4 (15%) for HPV 16. Nine of 13 premenopausal cases were HPV positive compared to only 2 of 13 postmenopausal cases (p less than 0.015). There was also a tendency towards previous negative cytology in HPV 18 positive premenopausal patients. The significance of these findings in relation to epidemiology of cervical adenocarcinoma is discussed.