Oncogenic human papillomavirus in breast cancer: molecular prevalence in a group of Congolese patients

Abstract

Background. Since the work of Band et al. in 1990 (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87:463–467), several studies have suggested a possible link between the pathogenesis of breast cancer and viral infection. Infection with oncogenic HPV has been one of the viruses implicated in breast cancer cases worldwide. Objective. To investigate the presence of HPV DNA in archived paraffin-embedded breast cancer cases at the University Hospital of Brazzaville and to assess the association between viral HPV infections and clinicopathological features. Methods. A total of 40 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) biopsies were retrospectively collected and available information was recorded. HPV detection and genotyping were performed by real-time PCR by GeneXpert technology (Cepheid, Sunnyvale, USA). Results. The mean age was 51.1±11.4 years (range 22–75 years; median was 47). Overall, HPV DNA was detected in six (15%) breast carcinoma samples. HPV-16, the most common genotype was identified in 83.7 % of all samples. HPV porting with clinicopathological features showed no significant difference (P>0.05). However, a statistically significant difference was observed between HPV infection and SBR grade (P=0.05). Conclusion. Our study described a high prevalence of HPV-HR in breast cancer cases in the Congolese woman. Future type case-control studies are necessary to better describe the potential role of HPV in the occurrence of breast cancer in Congo.

Human Papilloma Virus Infection in Iranian Women with Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review

“…The prevalence of HPV infection in BC may be different in different countries of the Middle East region. In Africa, countries such as Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria, and Congo reported the presence of HPV in women with BC (70)(71)(72)(73)(74).…”