Association of breast cancer with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in Northeast Brazil: molecular evidence

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the presence of human papillomavirus DNA and genotypes in breast cancer and normal breast tissue samples obtained from women from the northeast region of Brazil. METHOD: One hundred three breast cancer samples and 95 normal breast samples, as the non-malignant controls, were studied. DNA extraction was verified by human beta-globin gene amplification, and polymerase chain reaction was conducted based on HPV L1-specific consensus primers MY09/MY11 and GP5+/GP6+, followed by nested multiplex polymerase chain reaction with type-specific primers for the E6/E7 consensus region. RESULTS: Human papillomavirus DNA was detected in 51 (49.5%) breast carcinoma samples and 15 (15.8%) normal breast samples (p<0.0001). Human papillomavirus genotypes 6 and 11 were identified in 15.2% of all samples. CONCLUSIONS: The high frequency of human papillomavirus infection in breast cancer samples indicates a potential role of this virus in breast carcinogenesis in the studied participants.

Assessment of Epstein-Barr virus nucleic acids in gastric but not in breast cancer by next-generation sequencing of pooled Mexican samples

Gastric (GC) and breast (BrC) cancer are two of the most common and deadly tumours. Different lines of evidence suggest a possible causative role of viral infections for both GC and BrC. Wide genome sequencing (WGS) technologies allow searching for viral agents in tissues of patients with cancer. These technologies have already contributed to establish virus-cancer associations as well as to discovery new tumour viruses. The objective of this study was to document possible associations of viral infection with GC and BrC in Mexican patients. In order to gain idea about cost effective conditions of experimental sequencing, we first carried out an in silico simulation of WGS. The next-generation-platform IlluminaGallx was then used to sequence GC and BrC tumour samples. While we did not find viral sequences in tissues from BrC patients, multiple reads matching Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) sequences were found in GC tissues. An end-point polymerase chain reaction confirmed an enrichment of EBV sequences in one of the GC samples sequenced, validating the next-generation sequencing-bioinformatics pipeline.

Prevalence and correlation of human papilloma virus and its types with prognostic markers in patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast in Kuwait

This study aimed to document the association of human papilloma virus [HPV] and its types in breast carcinoma tissues in Kuwaiti women, and correlate this with known prognostic markers. The clinicopathological data of archived tissue from 144 cases of invasive ductal breast carcinoma were studied [age, histological grade, size of tumour, lymph node metastases, oestrogen/progesterone receptors and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 status]. HPV frequency was documented using immunohistochemistry [IHC] and chromogenic in-situ hybridisation [CISH]. HPV types were documented by CISH using HPV probes. CISH and IHC techniques were compared and HPV correlated with prognostic parameters. The HPV prevalence as determined by CISH and IHC was 51 [35.4%] and 24 [16.7%] cases, respectively. The sensitivity of HPV by IHC was 37.3% and specificity was 94.6%. The sensitivity and specificity of HPV-CISH compared to HPVIHC was statistically significant [P <0.001]. HPV-CISH was seen in 51 cases. A combination of HPV 6 and 11, and 16 and 18 was seen in 2 [3.9%] cases, and a combination of HPV 6, 11, 31 and 33 was seen in 7 [13.7%] cases. All three HPV probes: 6 and 11, 16 and 18, as well as 31 and 33 were present in 2 [3.9%] cases. The prevalence of HPVCISH in the Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti populations was 27 [52.9%] and 19 [37.2%], respectively. No correlation was observed with the prognostic parameters. The frequency of HPV in breast carcinoma cases in Kuwait was 35.4% [CISH]. Of those, 52.9% were Kuwaitis in whom both low- and high-risk HPV types were detected