Assessment of the Association between Human Papillomavirus Infection and Breast Carcinoma

Background and Objectives: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women throughout the world. There are controversial reports on the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in breast carcinogenesis. The aim of this study was to assess the presence of HPV-DNA in invasive breast carcinoma to determine the association between HPV infection and breast carcinoma. Methods: The study included formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples of 100 cases with invasive ductal carcinoma of breast and 50 control tissues of mammoplasty specimens. HPV-DNA was purified and amplified through GP5+/GP6+ and MY09/MY11 primers. Results: All tested carcinomas as well as normal tissues were negative for all types of HPV in PCR assay. Conclusion: Our results do not support the association between HPV infection and breast carcinoma. Further studies involving larger number of cases are required to elucidate the role of HPV infection in breast carcinogenesis.