Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA has been detected in breast carcinoma by different laboratorial techniques, suggesting the virus could play a role in the pathogenesis of this tumor. The aim of the present study is to investigate the presence of HPV in patients with breast carcinoma and the correlation of the viral infection with prognostic factors for the disease outcome. Between June 2001 and July 2002, 101 paraffin embedded breast carcinoma specimens were analyzed through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing of HPV-E6 gene. Twenty specimens of reduction mammoplasty and 21 specimens of fibroadenomas were also studied as a non-malignant control group. Two different specific primer sets targeting E6 region of the HPVs 16 and 18 were used for the analysis. The HPV DNA was detected in 25 breast carcinomas (24.75%), but in none of the benign breast specimens ( p < 0.001). Out of the 25 positive cases, 14 were HPV-16 positive (56%) and 10 were HPV-18 positive (40%). An original finding was the detection of both HPV-16 and -18 in a single tumor (4%). The amplified viral sequences confirmed the presence of HPV-16 and -18. No correlation between the presence of HPV DNA and specific prognostic predictors for the disease outcome was observed. Our results suggest that the presence in the breast of either HPV-16 or -18 might be related to development of the malignant phenotype. Further studies are warranted.

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A high proportion of papillary thyroid carcinoma cases are associated with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. There are associations among these cases with several histopathological factors already recognized for their prognostic value, which by themselves could impact outcomes.

Oxidative stress enhances carcinogenesis due to DNA damage. Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) Val16Ala polymorphism has been recently associated with breast and prostate cancer. The role of oxidative stress in male breast cancer is poorly investigated due to the low prevalence of this neoplasia. We studied the relationship between prostate cancer (PC), male (MBC) and female breast cancer (FBC) and this polymorphism in a case-control study. Human genetic polymorphism Val16Ala of MnSOD was obtained from blood and paraffin-embedded tumor samples. The polymorphism was determined in 11 cases of MBC, 51 cases of PC, 89 cases of FBC and 372 age-adjusted healthy controls by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism techniques using restriction enzyme Hae III. Chi-square or Fisher test were used to compare the MnSOD frequency distribution. The observed genotypic frequencies of all samples were AA = 9.6% (n = 50), VV = 25.4% (n = 133) and AV = 64% (n = 340), all at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Breast and prostate cancer risk was elevated in male and female patients with the Ala/Ala genotype compared to controls (p = 0.006, odds ratio = 2.5, 95% confidence interval 1.393-4.541). Even though the frequency of the Ala allele was low (9.6%) in the studied population, these data support the hypothesis that MnSOD and oxidative stress play a significant role in breast cancer risk both in males and females and also brings new information on the role of this polymorphism in prostate cancer. This is the first study which provides some evidence that genetic polymorphism in the MnSOD gene may be associated with an increased risk of male breast cancer. Studies with a larger sample size are needed to confirm the findings.