ABSTRACT
Breast cancer risk factors include lifestyle, genetic-hormonal influences, and viral infections. Human papillomavirus (HPV), known primarily as the etiological agent of cervical cancer, also appears active in breast carcinogenesis, as evidenced in our study of 56 patients from northeastern Brazil. We assessed the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics, correlating them with various breast cancer tumor types. HPV detection involved amplifying the L1 region, with viral load measured using the E2/E6 ratio and viral activity indicated by E5 oncogene expression. Predominantly, patients over 56 years of age with healthy lifestyles showed a high incidence of invasive ductal carcinoma and triple-negative breast cancer. HPV was detected in 35.7% of cases, mostly HPV16, which is associated with high viral loads (80 copies per cell) and significant E5 expression. These results hint at a possible link between HPV and breast carcinogenesis, necessitating further studies to explore this association and the underlying viral mechanisms.
Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms , Papillomavirus Infections , Humans , Brazil/epidemiology , Female , Middle Aged , Risk Factors , Breast Neoplasms/virology , Papillomavirus Infections/virology , Papillomavirus Infections/complications , Papillomavirus Infections/epidemiology , Adult , Aged , Papillomaviridae , Viral LoadABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Evaluate the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in biopsies of Brazilian patients with lung cancer and also the expression of the E6 and E7 oncoproteins. HPV is widely known as an important condition for cervical cancer although evidence today shows it is associated with several other types of cancer and may also be involved in lung cancer development. However, there are some divergences regarding the presence and activity of HPV in lung carcinogenesis. METHODS: The detection of HPV was performed by PCR, followed by genotype and immunohistochemical evaluation of E6 and E7 HPV type specific, from 63 patients. RESULTS: HPV was found to be present in 33 of the 63 samples, and types 16 and 18 were detected with frequencies of 81% (27/33) and 19% (6/33), respectively. About the presence of the virus in different histological types of tumors, HPV was detected in squamous cell carcinoma (39.39%), followed by adenocarcinoma (33.33%) and small cell carcinoma (18.18%) and large cell carcinoma (9.1%). The presence of the E6 (antibody anti-HPV 16 and anti-HPV 18) and E7 (antibody anti-HPV 16 and anti-HPV 18) oncoproteins was detected by immunohistochemical stain technique in 28/33 samples and 25/33 samples, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the lung tumor patients have high prevalence of HPV and the virus is not only present but also active in tumor cells. Therefore, the HPV is probably playing a role in lung carcinogenesis.
Subject(s)
Lung Neoplasms/etiology , Papillomaviridae , Papillomavirus Infections/complications , Papillomavirus Infections/virology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Child , Female , Humans , Immunohistochemistry , Lung Neoplasms/metabolism , Lung Neoplasms/pathology , Male , Middle Aged , Oncogene Proteins, Viral/genetics , Oncogene Proteins, Viral/metabolism , Papillomaviridae/classification , Papillomaviridae/genetics , Papillomavirus E7 Proteins/genetics , Papillomavirus E7 Proteins/metabolism , Young AdultABSTRACT
This study showed the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) variants as well as nucleotide changes within L1 gene and LCR of the HPV16, HPV31, and HPV58 found in cervical lesions of women from North-East Brazil.
