Interest in chemoprevention in oncology using suppressants of prostaglandin (PG) synthesis has been stimulated by epidemiological observations that the use of aspirin and other non-steroidal inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with reduced incidence of some cancers, including cancer of the breast. The main target of NSAID activity is the cyclooxygenase (COX) enzyme. Two isoforms of COX have been identified: COX-1, the constitutive isoform; and COX-2. the inducible form of the enzyme. COX-2 can undergo rapid induction in response to many factors such as bacterial lipopolysaccharides, growth factors, cytokines and phorbol esters. COX-2 is overexpressed in some malignancies including carcinoma of the breast. It has been suggested that such enhanced expression may lead to increased angiogenesis such that the inhibition of COX-2 might have a general anticancer effect via decreased blood vessel formation. In addition, an association between COX-2, its main product PGE2 and aromatase activity in human breast cancer suggests that such inhibitors might have an additional, specific prophylactic mechanism for this tumour. New COX-2 inhibitors are already licensed for use in the treatment of arthritis and are well tolerated. Their potential role in chemoprevention of mammary carcinogenesis in rats has already been investigated. What remains to be seen is if these findings can be extrapolated to human studies.

Infection by human papillomaviruses (HPVs) has been implicated in the aetiology of a variety of cancers. Studies evaluating the presence of HPVs in breast cancer (BC) have generated considerable controversy. To date, most studies have focused on the presence of viral DNA in BC; however there are important gaps in evidencing the role of HPV persistence in the invasiveness of BC. While these studies have been conducted in several countries, none, on the presence and biological activity of high risk (HR) HPV in BC has been done in the UK. Hence, we aimed to investigate these gaps by screening a total of 110 fresh breast tissue specimens from UK patients for the presence of twelve HR-HPV types DNA using PCR and Sanger sequencing. Samples positive for HPV-DNA were screened for viral oncoprotein expression using western blot and dot blot. Data obtained showed the presence of HR-HPVs in 42% of breast tissues of which the viral activity was only confirmed in a number of invasive carcinomas (5/26). This finding, the first to report in the UK, suggests that the selective expression of viral oncoprotein in invasive cases may propose a role for HR-HPVs in the development of some types of BC.

SPU in the hands of an experienced surgeon in association with sestamibi is a reliable tool for the preoperative localization of parathyroid adenomas and facilitates a minimally invasive procedure.