Human papilloma virus and breast cancer: the role of inflammation and viral expressed proteins

HPV Detection in Breast Tumors and Associated Risk Factors in Northeastern Brazil

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.

The Potential Role of Virus Infection in the Progression of Thyroid Cancer

Multiple factors have engaged in the progression of thyroid cancer (TC). Recent studies have shown that viral infection can be a critical factor in the pathogenesis of TC. Viruses, such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), may play an essential role in the occurrence, development, and even prognosis in TC. This review mainly explored the potential role of viral infection in the progress of TC. The possible mechanisms could be recognizing the host cell, binding to the receptors, affecting oncogenes levels, releasing viral products to shape a beneficial environment, interacting with immune cells to induce immune evasion, and altering the pituitary-thyroid axis. Thus, comprehensive knowledge may provide insights into finding molecular targets for diagnosing and treating virus-related TC.

Human papillomavirus infection and the risk of cancer at specific sites other than anogenital tract and oropharyngeal region: an umbrella review

BACKGROUND

Despite numerous studies having evaluated the associations between human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and risk of specific cancers other than anogenital tract and oropharyngeal, the findings are inconsistent and the quality of evidence has not been systematically quantified. We aimed to summarise the existing evidence as well as to evaluate the strength and credibility of these associations.

METHODS

We conducted an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies. PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science were searched from inception to March 2024. Studies with systematic reviews and meta-analyses that examined associations between HPV or HPV-associated genotypes infection and specific cancers were eligible for this review. The quality of the methodology was evaluated using A Measurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews (AMSTAR). The credibility of the evidence was assessed using GRADE. The protocol was preregistered with PROSPERO (CRD42023439070).

FINDINGS

The umbrella review identified 31 eligible studies reporting 87 associations with meta-analytic estimates, including 1191 individual studies with 336,195 participants. Of those, 29 (93.5%) studies were rated as over moderate quality by AMSTAR. Only one association indicating HPV-18 infection associated with an increased risk of breast cancer (odds ratio [OR] = 3.48, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.24-5.41) was graded as convincing evidence. There were five unique outcomes identified as highly suggestive evidence, including HPV infection increased the risk of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OR = 7.03, 95% CI = 3.87-12.76), oesophageal cancer (OR = 3.32, 95% CI = 2.54-4.34), oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OR = 2.69, 95% CI = 2.05-3.54), lung cancer (OR = 3.60, 95% CI = 2.59-5.01), and breast cancer (OR = 6.26, 95% CI = 4.35-9.00). According to GRADE, one association was classified as high, indicating that compared with the controls in normal tissues, HPV infection was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.

INTERPRETATION

The umbrella review synthesised up-to-date observational evidence on HPV infection with the risk of breast cancer, oral squamous cell carcinoma, oesophageal cancer, oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma, and lung cancer. Further larger prospective cohort studies are needed to verify the associations, providing public health recommendations for prevention of disease.

FUNDING

National Key Research and Development Program of China, Natural Science Foundation of China, Outstanding Scientific Fund of Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, and 345 Talent Project of Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University.

Immunological Response against Breast Lineage Cells Transfected with Human Papillomavirus (HPV)

Breast cancer is the most common neoplasm worldwide. Viral infections are involved with carcinogenesis, especially those caused by oncogenic Human Papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes. Despite the detection of HPV in breast carcinomas, the virus's activity against this type of cancer remains controversial. HPV infection promotes remodeling of the host's immune response, resulting in an immunosuppressive profile. This study assessed the individual role of HPV oncogenes in the cell line MDA-MB-231 transfected with the E5, E6, and E7 oncogenes and co-cultured with peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Immunophenotyping was conducted to evaluate immune system modulation. There was an increase in CD4+ T cell numbers when compared with non-transfected and transfected MDA-MB-231, especially in the Treg profile. Pro-inflammatory intracellular cytokines, such as IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-17, were impaired by transfected cells, and a decrease in the cytolytic activity of the CD8+ and CD56+ lymphocytes was observed in the presence of HPV oncogenes, mainly with E6 and E7. The E6 and E7 oncogenes decrease monocyte expression, activating the expected M1 profile. In the monocytes found, a pro-inflammatory role was observed according to the cytokines released in the supernatant. In conclusion, the MDA-MB-231 cell lineage transfected with HPV oncogenes can downregulate the number and function of lymphocytes and monocytes.

Association of Human Papilloma Virus, Cytomegalovirus, and Epstein-Barr Virus with Breast Cancer in Jordanian Women

Background and Objectives: The investigation of oncogenic viruses and their potential association with breast cancer (BC) remains an intriguing area of study. The current work aims to assess evidence of three specific viruses, human papillomavirus (HPV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in BC samples and to explore their relationship with relevant clinicopathological variables. Materials and Methods: The analysis involved BC samples from 110 Jordanian female patients diagnosed with BC and breast tissue samples from 30 control patients with no evidence of breast malignancy, investigated using real-time PCR. The findings were then correlated with various clinico-pathological characteristics of BC. Results: HPV was detected in 27 (24.5%), CMV in 15 (13.6%), and EBV in 18 (16.4%) BC patients. None of the control samples was positive for HPV or CMV while EBV was detected in only one (3.3%) sample. While (HPV/EBV), (HPV/CMV), and (EBV/CMV) co-infections were reported in 1.8%, 2.7%, and 5.5%, respectively, coinfection with the three viruses (HPV/CMV/EBV) was not reported in our cohort. A statistically significant association was observed between HPV status and age (p = 0.047), and between clinical stage and CMV infection (p = 0.015). Conclusions: Our findings indicate the presence or co-presence of HPV, CMV, and EBV in the BC subpopulation, suggesting a potential role in its development and/or progression. Further investigation is required to elucidate the underlying mechanisms that account for the exact role of oncoviruses in breast carcinogenesis.

High rate of high-risk human papillomavirus among benign and breast cancer patients in Ethiopia

INTRODUCTION

There have been numerous studies that showed the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in breast cancer; nonetheless, there is ongoing debate regarding their association. Given few studies in Ethiopia, we aimed to investigate the magnitude of HPV infection in Ethiopian breast cancer patients.

METHODS

A total of 120 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue blocks were obtained, and basic demographic, clinical, and histological data were collected from medical records. DNA was extracted from archived FFPE breast tissue specimens using GeneRead DNA FFPE Kit. The AnyplexTM II HPV28 Detection Kit (Seegene, Korea) was used to detect HPV by following the manufacturer's instructions. The SPSS Version 25 was used to enter and analyze data.

RESULTS

Among the 120 study participants; HPV (both high-risk and low-risk) was detected in 20.6% of breast cancer and 29.6% of non-malignant breast tumors. The most common genotype was the high-risk HPV 16 genotype. The frequency of HPV was nearly 10-fold higher in estrogen receptor-positive than ER-negative breast cancer. The percentage of HPV in the luminal (luminal A and luminal B) breast cancer subtypes was also much higher than in the non-luminal subtypes (HER-2 enriched and triple-negative breast cancer).

CONCLUSION

This study did not find a significant difference in HPV expression between breast cancer and non-malignant breast tumors; however, the higher percentage of HPV in ER-positive compared to ER-negative breast cancer warrants further attention.

Emerging evidence on the role of breast microbiota on the development of breast cancer in high-risk patients

Cancer is a multi-factorial disease, and the etiology of breast cancer (BC) is due to a combination of both genetic and environmental factors. Breast tissue shows a unique microbiota, Proteobacteria and Firmicutes are the most abundant bacteria in breast tissue, and several studies have shown that the microbiota of healthy breast differs from that of BC. Breast microbiota appears to be correlated with different characteristics of the tumor, and prognostic clinicopathologic features. It also appears that there are subtle differences between the microbial profiles of the healthy control and high-risk patients. Genetic predisposition is an extremely important risk factor for BC. BRCA1/2 germline mutations and Li-Fraumeni syndrome are DNA repair deficiency syndromes inherited as autosomal dominant characters that substantially increase the risk of BC. These syndromes exhibit incomplete penetrance of BC expression in carrier subjects. The action of breast microbiota on carcinogenesis might explain why women with a mutation develop cancer and others do not. Among the potential biological pathways through which the breast microbiota may affect tumorigenesis, the most relevant appear to be DNA damage caused by colibactin and other bacterial-derived genotoxins, β-glucuronidase-mediated estrogen deconjugation and reactivation, and HPV-mediated cancer susceptibility. In conclusion, in patients with a genetic predisposition, an unfavorable breast microbiota may be co-responsible for the onset of BC. Prospectively, the ability to modulate the microbiota may have an impact on disease onset and progression in patients at high risk for BC.

Oncoviruses: Induction of cancer development and metastasis by increasing anoikis resistance

The phenomenon of cell death is a vital aspect in the regulation of aberrant cells such as cancer cells. Anoikis is a kind of cell death that occurs when cells get separated from the extracellular matrix. Some cancer cells can inhibit anoikis in order to progress metastasis. One of the key variables that might be implicated in anoikis resistance (AR) is viral infections. The most important viruses involved in this process are Epstein-Barr virus, human papillomavirus, hepatitis B virus, human herpes virus 8, human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1, and hepatitis C virus. A better understanding of how carcinogenic viruses suppress anoikis might be helpful in developing an effective treatment for virus-associated cancers. In the current study, we review the role of the mentioned viruses and their gene products in anoikis inhibition.

Vaccine escape challenges virus prevention: The example of two vaccine-preventable oncogenic viruses

Over the years, the pace of developing vaccines for HBV and HPV has never stopped. After more than 30 years of application, the HBV vaccine has reduced 80% of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, vaccine escape variants occur under selective pressure induced by widespread vaccination and antiviral therapy, which results in fulminant infection and horizontal transmission. Several mechanisms have been studied to explain HBV vaccine escape, including vaccine escape mutations (VEMs) in the major hydrophilic region, which leads to a decrease in the binding ability to neutralize antibodies and is the primary escape mechanism, protein conformational and N-linked glycosylation sites changes caused by VEMs, differences in genotype distribution, gene recombination, and some temporarily unknown reasons. However, effective solutions are still being explored. The HPV vaccine has also been proven to prevent 70%-90% of cervical cancer worldwide. Cases of HPV infection after being vaccinated have been observed in clinical practice. However, few researchers have paid attention to the mechanism of HPV vaccine escape. Thus, we reviewed the literature on vaccine escape of both HBV and HPV to discuss the mechanism of the virus escaping from vaccine protection and possible solutions to this problem. We analyzed the gap between studies of HPV and HBV and made prospects for further research in HPV vaccine escape.

Analysis of Parents' Attitudes and Knowledge toward Immunization and How These Factors Influence Their Decisions to Vaccinate Their Children against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)

Background and objectives: Vaccination hesitancy is a growing problem associated with decreasing chances for the elimination of vaccine-preventable diseases through immunization. This research was conducted to learn about parents' attitudes toward vaccination, particularly against HPV, in the context of their beliefs and fears regarding immunization and the impact of these views on their children's vaccination decisions. An additional goal was to determine what views or convictions most often lead to the phenomenon of delaying or refusing vaccinations, especially HPV vaccines, in the surveyed community. Materials and Methods: An online questionnaire was conducted in which parents marked how they vaccinated their children with mandatory vaccinations and whether they took the opportunity to protect their children with additional vaccinations, including HPV and COVID-19. Respondents also marked the extent to which they agreed with the statements, regarding the safety of vaccinations, doubts about them, as well as popular anti-vaccine myths. Results: A total of 250 questionnaires were collected with data on the immunization of 425 children. Associations between specific beliefs and vaccine abstention were established. The most motivating factor for vaccination against HPV was the parent's awareness that the virus HP is the cause of cancer. The most inhibiting factor was respondent's compliance with the opinion that HPV vaccines can affect the child's sexual activity. Conclusions: The results indicate that information campaigns are needed, especially focusing on vaccine safety and the regularity and transparency of monitoring adverse effects. The obtained results will be used to create educational interventions against vaccination hesitancy more adapted to local conditions.

The prevalence of varicella zoster virus, herpes simplex virus type 2, and human papillomavirus in breast cancerous tissues and their adjacent ones in Iran

Background

Breast cancer is the second type of cancer in the world. Some internal and external risk factors, especially infection diseases, can progress breast cancer. As the relation between varicella zoster virus (VZV), human papillomavirus (HPV), herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), and breast cancer has not been understood, it was attempting to find the effect of these viruses and breast cancer in this study.

Materials and Methods

We collected 40 breast cancer and 50 healthy adjacent tissues from Taleghani and Imam Hossein Hospital, Tehran, Iran, in 3 years starting in 2017. After extracting DNA from breast tissues, multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR), nested PCR, and PCR were done to analyze the prevalence of HSV-2, VZV, and HPV.

Results

Our results showed that HPV may be one of the important causes of breast cancer. Nested PCR illustrated nine breast cancerous tissues (mean age: 43) and three healthy adjacent ones (mean age: 41) were infected by HPV. Phylogenetic analysis illustrated that all of the infected HPV cancerous and healthy tissues were HPV 18 (except two healthy samples infected with HPV 6). Nevertheless, there were not any infected tissues by HSV-2 and VZV.

Conclusion

It seems that HPV virus type 18 can have high prevalence in breast cancerous tissues in comparison with healthy adjacent ones, and it is likely to have an effect on breast cancer progression. However, the opposite trend is true for HSV-2 and VZV as we did not find any differences between different kinds of breast tissues.

An updated systemic review and meta-analysis on human papillomavirus in breast carcinogenesis

Background

Breast Cancer (BC) stands out as the widely prevalent malignancy among all the types of cancer affecting women worldwide. There is significant evidence that the pathogenicity of BC may be altered by Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection; however, conclusive data are not yet available.

Methods

By searching five databases, including EMBASE, IBECS, PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and Web of Science, a thorough systematic analysis was conducted on the prevalence of HPV in BC patients from 1990 to June 30, 2022. After applying extensive eligibility criteria, we selected 74 publications for further analysis based on the prevalence of HPV infections in breast tissues. All of the data were analyzed using a random-effects meta-analysis, Cochran Q test and I2 statistic were used to calculate the heterogeneity of the prevalence among these studies using subgroup analysis. Variations in the HPV prevalence estimates in different subgroups were evaluated by subgroup meta-analysis.

Results

In total, 3156 studies were initially screened, resulting in 93 full-text studies reviewed, with 74 meeting inclusion criteria. Among a total of 7156 BC biopsies, the pool prevalence of HPV was 25.6% (95% CI= 0.24-0.33, τ2 = 0.0369 with significant heterogeneity between estimates (I 2 = 97% and p< 0.01). Consequently, 45 studies with available controls were further studied, and the prevalence of HPV in case-control studies was 26.2% with overall odds 5.55 (95% CI= 3.67-8.41, I 2 = 38%, τ2 = 1.4878, p< 0.01). Further subgroup analysis of HPV revealed HPV-16 had a maximum prevalence of 9.6% (95% CI= 3.06-11.86, I 2 = 0%, τ2 = 0.6111, p< 0.01). Among different geographical regions, Europe reported the maximum prevalence of HPV, i.e., 39.2% (95% CI=1.29-7.91, I 2 = 18%, τ2 = 1.2911, p< 0.01). Overall distribution showed HPV-18 was a frequent HPV subtype reported in Australia.

Conclusion

Current study provides a global estimate of HPV prevalence in BC patients and demonstrates a significant association between this virus and BC etiology. Nevertheless, we recommend further investigation into the underlying mechanism is essential to validate this hypothesis.

Advancing Immunotherapies for HPV-Related Cancers: Exploring Novel Vaccine Strategies and the Influence of Tumor Microenvironment

The understanding of the relationship between immunological responses and cancers, especially those related to HPV, has allowed for the study and development of therapeutic vaccines against these neoplasias. There is a growing number of studies about the composition and influence of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in the progression or establishment of the most varied types of cancer. Hence, it has been possible to structure immunotherapy approaches based on therapeutic vaccines that are even more specific and directed to components of TME and the immune response associated with tumors. Among these components are dendritic cells (DCs), which are the main professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs) already studied in therapy strategies for HPV-related cancers. On the other hand, tumor-associated macrophages are also potential targets since the profile present in tumor infiltrates, M1 or M2, influences the prognosis of some types of cancer. These two cell types can be targets for therapy or immunomodulation. In this context, our review aims to provide an overview of immunotherapy strategies for HPV-positive tumors, such as cervical and head and neck cancers, pointing to TME immune cells as promising targets for these approaches. This review also explores the potential of immunotherapy in cancer treatment, including checkpoint inhibitors, cytokine immunotherapies, immunotherapy vaccines, and cell therapies. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of understanding the TME and its effect on the design and achievement of immunotherapeutic methods.

Identification of monotonically expressed long non-coding RNA signatures for breast cancer using variational autoencoders

As breast cancer is a multistage progression disease resulting from a genetic sequence of mutations, understanding the genes whose expression values increase or decrease monotonically across pathologic stages can provide insightful clues about how breast cancer initiates and advances. Utilizing variational autoencoder (VAE) networks in conjunction with traditional statistical testing, we successfully ascertain long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) that exhibit monotonically differential expression values in breast cancer. Subsequently, we validate that the identified lncRNAs really present monotonically changed patterns. The proposed procedure identified 248 monotonically decreasing expressed and 115 increasing expressed lncRNAs. They correspond to a total of 65 and 33 genes respectively, which possess unique known gene symbols. Some of them are associated with breast cancer, as suggested by previous studies. Furthermore, enriched pathways by the target mRNAs of these identified lncRNAs include the Wnt signaling pathway, human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, and Rap 1 signaling pathway, which have been shown to play crucial roles in the initiation and development of breast cancer. Additionally, we trained a VAE model using the entire dataset. To assess the effectiveness of the identified lncRNAs, a microarray dataset was employed as the test set. The results obtained from this evaluation were deemed satisfactory. In conclusion, further experimental validation of these lncRNAs with a large-sized study is warranted, and the proposed procedure is highly recommended.

Human papillomavirus maybe is a critical player in the regulation of chemoresistance related factors (P53, Rb, TWIST, Bcl-2, Bcl-XL, c-IAP2, cytochrome C, and caspase 3) in breast cancer

As one of the frequent malignancies, breast cancer (BCa) is the foremost reason for cancer-related deaths among women. The role of Human papillomavirus (HPV) in chemoresistance has rarely been investigated in previous studies. The current study sets out to the possible role of HPV in BCa chemoresistance. In this research, 90 BCa tissue and 33 normal breast tissue were collected. We evaluated the presence of the HPV genome along with the viral (E2, E6, E7) and cellular gene expression associated with cell resistance to death. Statically significant differences in the prevalence of HPV between the BCa group (25.2% or 23/90) and the control group (21.8% or 7/32) were not found. HPV-16 and HPV-18 genotypes were the abundant HPV genotypes. Resistance to the Adriamycin-Cyclophosphamide (AC), paclitaxel regimen was elevated in the HPV- group (56/70) in comparison to the HPV+ group (14/70). Nevertheless, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of resistance to AC + paclitaxel + triple-negative breast cancer combination therapy between the HPV+ group (9/20) and in the HPV- group (11/20). In the BCa group in contrast to the control group, the expression level of Bcl-2, BCL-XL, and c-IAP2 demonstrated a significant decrease, while, the expression level of cytochrome C and caspase 3 was significantly increased. This study suggests that HPV infection might contribute to BCa chemoresistance through disrupt cellular genes involved in cell death.

Low presence of papillomavirus and its lack of correlation with clinicopathological factors in breast cancer: a case control study

Background and Objectives

Breast cancer is currently the most commonly diagnosed neoplasm in women worldwide. There is evidence that human papillomavirus (HPV) infection may play a key role in breast cancer aggressiveness, but results are conflicting across studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of the HPV viral genome in benign and malignant breast tissue samples and its clinicopathological characteristics of cancer.

Materials and Methods

In this case-control study, 100 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) of breast cancer and 100 blocks of non-cancerous breast tissue were selected as a control group from the pathology department of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ahvaz from 2020-2022. The presence of HPV was detected using nested PCR including MY09/11 primers and sequencing were performed for virus genotyping.

Results

The present study enrolled 100 subjects each in two cancer and control groups with a mean age of 52.81±13.23 and 35.77±11.65, respectively. The risk of cancer in HPV-infected patients is almost 5 times higher than in HPV-negative individuals, it is not statistically significant (OR =4.99, 95% CI 0.35 to 72.15, p=0.238). The prevalence of HPV in the cancer and control groups was 7% and 1%, respectively and HPVs detected in two groups were of the HPV 16 genotype. Although the chance of ER and PR expression, lymphvascular involvement, perineural invasion, and higher tumor grade was higher in HPV-positive subjects than in HPV-negative subjects, this was not statistically significant (OR>1, p>0.05).

Conclusion

Based on studies reporting the existence of sequences of different high-risk HPV types (oncogenes) in breast cancer tissues, this study confirmed the hypothesis of a possible infectious cause in the development of breast cancer. So far, however, the results have been controversial and inconclusive. Further studies with large sample sizes are needed to demonstrate the link between HPV and breast cancer.

IGF2BP1-An Oncofetal RNA-Binding Protein Fuels Tumor Virus Propagation

The oncofetal RNA-binding protein IGF2BP1 has been reported to be a driver of tumor progression in a multitude of cancer entities. Its main function is the stabilization of target transcripts by shielding these from miRNA-mediated degradation. However, there is growing evidence that several virus species recruit IGF2BP1 to promote their propagation. In particular, tumor-promoting viruses, such as hepatitis B/C and human papillomaviruses, benefit from IGF2BP1. Moreover, recent evidence suggests that non-oncogenic viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, also take advantage of IGF2BP1. The only virus inhibited by IGF2BP1 reported to date is HIV-1. This review summarizes the current knowledge about the interactions between IGF2BP1 and different virus species. It further recapitulates several findings by presenting analyses from publicly available high-throughput datasets.

Integrative analysis of gene expression and DNA methylation to identify biomarkers of non-genital warts induced by low-risk human papillomaviruses infection

Background

Human papillomaviruses have been shown to dysregulate the gene expression and DNA methylation profiles of their host cells over the course of infection. However, there is a lack of information on the impact of low-risk HPV infection and wart formation on host cell's expression and methylation patterns. Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyse the genome and methylome of common warts using an integrative approach.

Methods

In the present study, gene expression (GSE136347) and methylation (GSE213888) datasets of common warts were obtained from the GEO database. Identification of the differentially expressed and differentially methylated genes was carried out using the RnBeads R package and the edgeR Bioconductor package. Next, functional annotation of the identified genes was obtained using the Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID). Network construction and analyses of the gene-gene, protein-protein, and signaling interactions of the differentially expressed and differentially methylated genes was performed using the GeneMANIA web interface, the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING) database, and the Signaling Network Open Resource 2.0 (SIGNOR 2.0), respectively. Lastly, significant hub genes were identified using the Cytoscape application CytoHubba.

Results

A total of 276 genes were identified as differentially expressed and differentially methylated in common warts, with 52% being upregulated and hypermethylated. Functional enrichment analysis identified extracellular components as the most enriched annotations, while network analyses identified ELN, ITGB1, TIMP1, MMP2, LGALS3, COL1A1 and ANPEP as significant hub genes.

Conclusions

To the best knowledge of the authors, this is the first integrative study to be carried out on non-genital warts induced by low-risk HPV types. Future studies are required to re-validate the findings in larger populations using alternative approaches.

Prevalence of Polyomaviruses and Herpesviruses in Moroccan Breast Cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide, accounting for 24.5% of total new cancer cases and 15.5% of total cancer deaths. Similarly, BC is the most common cancer among Moroccan women, comprising a noteworthy percentage of 40% of all cancers in women. Globally, 15% of cancers are attributable to infections; among them, viruses play a significant role. The present study aimed to explore the presence of a wide range of viral DNA in samples recovered from 76 Moroccan patients with BC and 12 controls using Luminex technology. The explored viruses were as follows: 10 polyomaviruses (PyVs): BKV, KIV, JCV, MCV, WUV, TSV, HPyV6, HPyV7, HPyV9, and SV40; and 5 Herpesviruses (HHVs): CMV, EBV1, EBV2, HSV1, and HSV2. Our results revealed the presence of PyVs DNA in both control (16.7%) and BC tissues (18.4%). Nonetheless, HHV DNA was detected exclusively in BC tissues (23.7%), with a predominance of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) (21%). In conclusion, our study highlights the presence of EBV in human BC tissues, which may play an important role in its development and/or progression. Further investigations are needed to confirm the presence/co-presence of these viruses in BC.

Epstein-Barr virus in breast carcinoma and in triple negative cases impact on clinical outcomes

BACKGROUND

The contribution of viral infection in tumors pathogenesis has currently attracted attention. Epstein-Barr virus is an infectious agent involved in numerous human malignancies, including breast cancer. Although, their prognostic impact in breast tumor is rarely investigated. Therefore, we sought in our study to evaluate the prevalence of EBV in Tunisian breast carcinoma and to examine their potential association with clinicopathological features and overall survival.

METHODS

Our retrospective study included 100 formalin fixed paraffin embedded samples from Tunisian breast carcinoma. EBV infection was evaluated by immunohistochemical analysis, using monoclonal antibody against latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1) and polymerase chain reaction. A subset of PCR positive specimens was subjected to in situ hybridization for the detection of EBER expression. Biomarker's expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry method. Statistical analysis was also explored.

RESULTS

The expression status of ER, PR and HER2 was 81%, 71.4% and 33.7% respectively. The triple negative profile was present in 10.84% of cases. LMP-1 expression was negative in all breast cancer specimens. PCR assay showed that 44% of patients were positive for EBV genome. None of the 15 PCR positive cases showed positive results for EBV by ISH. According to the molecular phenotype, there was a statistically significant difference in EBV DNA prevalence between breast cancer subgroups including TN (67%), Lum B (64%), HER2 + (50%) and Lum A (30%). Bivariate analysis showed that EBV DNA was significantly associated with HER2 + (p = 0.035), tumor size (p = 0.018) and high SBR grade (p = 0.009). Multiple logistic regression analysis confirms the positive correlation of EBV with tumor size (p = 0.048) and SBR grade (p = 0.042). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with EBV+ had significantly shorter overall survival than those with EBV- (p = 0.032).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study demonstrated the presence of EBV DNA in Tunisian breast carcinoma. EBV DNA was associated with aggressive features and poor overall survival. Further investigations will be required in large samples size to clarify the potential role of EBV in breast tumor progression.

Tracking HPV Infection, Associated Cancer Development, and Recent Treatment Efforts-A Comprehensive Review

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are high-risk causative factors for HPV infection. This infection does not come alone; it is often seen with co-infection with other viruses and acts as a causative agent for several malignancies. The major purpose of this comprehensive study was to highlight some recent advances in biotechnology associated with HPV infection, including understanding its host interactions and cancerous progression. A systematic research strategy was used to gather data from recent, and the most advanced published electronic sources. The compiled data explain the recent understanding of biology, host-viral interaction cycles, co-infection with other viral diseases, and cellular transformation toward malignancies associated with HPV. In recent years, some vaccination protocols have been introduced in the form of live attenuated, subunit, and DNA-based vaccines. Moreover, some strategies of nanotechnology are being employed to synthesize drugs and vaccines with a whole new approach of plant-based products. The data are immense for the proposed research question, yet the need is to implement modern follow-up screening and modern therapeutics at the clinical level and to conduct wide-scale public awareness to lessen the HPV-related disease burden.

HPV-Associated Breast Cancer: Myth or Fact?

Some estimates place the proportion of human malignancies attributable to viruses at between 15 and 20 percent. Viruses including the human papillomavirus are considered an interesting but controversial etiological risk factor for breast cancer. HPV infection is anticipated to be an early trigger in breast cancer carcinogenesis, followed by cumulative alterations over time ("hit and run" mechanism) through synergy with other environmental factors. The association between HPV and breast cancer has not yet been verified. There are very conflicting data on the presence of HPV DNA in breast cancer samples, and we lack a clarified, exact mode of HPV transmission to the breast. In our review article we analyzed the up-to-date knowledge about the association of HPV and breast cancer. Furthermore, we summarized the available original research published since 2010. In conclusion, the complexity and inconsistency of the available results together with the relatively low prevalence of HPV infection requires extensive research with much larger studies and exact and unified diagnostic methods are required to better understand the role of the HPV in breast carcinogenesis.

Insights into the role of complement regulatory proteins in HPV mediated cervical carcinogenesis

The persistent infection of high-risk Human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) induced cervical cancer remains a challenge in women worldwide including India. Recent advances in cancer research have paved the way for advanced cancer treatment modalities including immunotherapy by manipulating the function or number of cytotoxic T cells. It is well established that anaphylatoxins like C3a and C5a of complement system influence tumor growth by evading apoptosis leading to progression of cancer. The role of the complement system, particularly the complement regulatory proteins (CRPs) which are important determinants of immune response play a crucial role in carcinogenesis. In a tumor microenvironment (TME) assisted suppression of immune effector cells may be achieved through CRPs. However, recent advances in pharmacogenomics including drug designing and combination of these approaches have provided a holistic understanding of signaling pathways and their crosstalk, to regulate cellular communications.This review describes the role of complement system; particularly CRPs in HPV induced cervical carcinogenesis which may be used for designing anti- HPV or cervical cancer therapeutics.

A Deep Survival EWAS approach estimating risk profile based on pre-diagnostic DNA methylation: An application to breast cancer time to diagnosis

Previous studies for cancer biomarker discovery based on pre-diagnostic blood DNA methylation (DNAm) profiles, either ignore the explicit modeling of the Time To Diagnosis (TTD), or provide inconsistent results. This lack of consistency is likely due to the limitations of standard EWAS approaches, that model the effect of DNAm at CpG sites on TTD independently. In this work, we aim to identify blood DNAm profiles associated with TTD, with the aim to improve the reliability of the results, as well as their biological meaningfulness. We argue that a global approach to estimate CpG sites effect profile should capture the complex (potentially non-linear) relationships interplaying between sites. To prove our concept, we develop a new Deep Learning-based approach assessing the relevance of individual CpG Islands (i.e., assigning a weight to each site) in determining TTD while modeling their combined effect in a survival analysis scenario. The algorithm combines a tailored sampling procedure with DNAm sites agglomeration, deep non-linear survival modeling and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) values estimation to aid robustness of the derived effects profile. The proposed approach deals with the common complexities arising from epidemiological studies, such as small sample size, noise, and low signal-to-noise ratio of blood-derived DNAm. We apply our approach to a prospective case-control study on breast cancer nested in the EPIC Italy cohort and we perform weighted gene-set enrichment analyses to demonstrate the biological meaningfulness of the obtained results. We compared the results of Deep Survival EWAS with those of a traditional EWAS approach, demonstrating that our method performs better than the standard approach in identifying biologically relevant pathways.

Blood-derived DNAm profiles could be exploited as new biomarkers for cancer risk stratification and possibly, early detection. This is of particular interest since blood is a convenient tissue to assay for constitutional methylation and its collection is non-invasive. Exploiting pre-diagnostic blood DNAm data opens the further opportunity to investigate the association of DNAm at baseline on cancer risk, modeling the relationship between sites’ methylation and the Time to Diagnosis. Previous studies mostly provide inconsistent results likely due to the limitations of standard EWAS approaches, that model the effect of DNAm at CpG sites on TTD independently. In this work we argue that an approach to estimate single CpG sites’ effect while modeling their combined effect on the survival outcome is needed, and we claim that such approach should capture the complex (potentially non-linear) relationships interplaying between sites. We prove this concept by developing a novel approach to analyze a prospective case-control study on breast cancer nested in the EPIC Italy cohort. A weighted gene set enrichment analysis confirms that our approach outperforms standard EWAS in identifying biologically meaningful pathways.

Presence of Human Papillomavirus DNA in Malignant Neoplasia and Non-Malignant Breast Disease

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide. Multiple extrinsic and intrinsic factors are associated with this disease’s development. Various research groups worldwide have reported the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in samples of malignant breast tumors. Although its role in mammary carcinogenesis is not fully understood, it is known that the HPV genome, once inserted into host cells, has oncogenic capabilities. The present study aimed to detect the presence of HPV DNA in 116 breast tissue biopsies and classify them according to their histology. It was found that 50.9% of the breast biopsies analyzed were malignant neoplasms, of which 74.6% were histologically classified as infiltrating ductal carcinoma. In biopsies with non-malignant breast disease, fibroadenoma was the most common benign neoplasm (39.1%). Detection of HPV DNA was performed through nested PCR using the external primer MY09/11 and the internal primer GP5+/6+. A hybridization assay genotyped HPV. HPV DNA was identified in 20.3% (12/59) of malignant neoplasms and 35% non-malignant breast disease (16/46). It was also detected in 27.3% (3/11) of breast tissue biopsies without alteration. However, there are no statistically significant differences between these groups and the existence of HPV DNA (p = 0.2521). Its presence was more frequent in non-malignant alterations than in malignant neoplasias. The most frequent genotypes in the HPV-positive samples were low-risk (LR) HPV-42 followed by high-risk (HR) HPV-31.

Spatial transcriptomics prediction from histology jointly through Transformer and graph neural networks

The rapid development of spatial transcriptomics allows the measurement of RNA abundance at a high spatial resolution, making it possible to simultaneously profile gene expression, spatial locations of cells or spots, and the corresponding hematoxylin and eosin-stained histology images. It turns promising to predict gene expression from histology images that are relatively easy and cheap to obtain. For this purpose, several methods are devised, but they have not fully captured the internal relations of the 2D vision features or spatial dependency between spots. Here, we developed Hist2ST, a deep learning-based model to predict RNA-seq expression from histology images. Around each sequenced spot, the corresponding histology image is cropped into an image patch and fed into a convolutional module to extract 2D vision features. Meanwhile, the spatial relations with the whole image and neighbored patches are captured through Transformer and graph neural network modules, respectively. These learned features are then used to predict the gene expression by following the zero-inflated negative binomial distribution. To alleviate the impact by the small spatial transcriptomics data, a self-distillation mechanism is employed for efficient learning of the model. By comprehensive tests on cancer and normal datasets, Hist2ST was shown to outperform existing methods in terms of both gene expression prediction and spatial region identification. Further pathway analyses indicated that our model could reserve biological information. Thus, Hist2ST enables generating spatial transcriptomics data from histology images for elucidating molecular signatures of tissues.

Association between Breast Cancer and Second Primary Lung Cancer among the Female Population in Taiwan: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

PURPOSE

A special association between breast cancer and second primary lung cancer in Taiwanese women has been discovered not only in clinical practice, but also in a large population-based study. We hereby investigate the association between breast cancer and second primary lung cancer in Taiwanese women.

METHODS

This study was conducted from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) from Taiwan National Health Insurance (NHI). Patients older than 18 years old and hospitalized with a first diagnosis of breast cancer during 2000 to 2012 were enrolled in the breast cancer group. Patients who were cancer free were frequency-matched with the breast cancer group by age (every five-year span) and index year. The ratio of breast cancer group to non-breast cancer group was 1:4. The event as the outcome in this study was lung cancer. The comorbidities viewed as important confounding factors included coronary artery disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hyperlipidemia, tuberculosis, chronic kidney disease, and chronic liver disease and cirrhosis. We estimated the hazard ratios (HRs), adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for risk of lung cancer in the breast cancer group and non-breast cancer group using Cox proportional hazard models. Sensitivity analysis was also done using propensity score matching. All of the statistical analyses were performed using SAS statistical software, version 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC).

RESULTS

There were 94,451 breast cancer patients in the breast cancer group and 377,804 patients in the non-breast cancer group in this study. After being stratified by age, urbanization level, and comorbidities, the patients with breast cancer had a significantly higher risk of lung cancer compared with the patients without breast cancer, particularly for those who aged between 20 and 49 years (aHR = 2.10, 95% CI = 1.71-2.58), 50 and 64 years (aHR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.15-1.58), and those without any comorbidities (aHR = 1.92, 95% CI = 1.64-2.23).

CONCLUSION

Patients with breast cancer had a significantly higher risk of developing second primary lung cancer compared with patients without breast cancer, particularly in younger groups and in those without any comorbidities. The special association may be attributed to some potential risk factors such as genetic susceptibility and long-term exposure to PM2.5, and is supposed to increase public awareness. Further studies are necessary given the fact that inherited genotypes, different subtypes of breast cancer and lung cancer, and other unrecognized etiologies may play vital roles in both cancers' development.

Association of human papillomavirus with breast cancer: a new perspective on an old debate

Breast cancer is a common cancer in the female population. Despite remarkable progress in the treatment of this cancer, its exact etiology is still unknown. Since the first evidence of an association between breast cancer and human papillomavirus (HPV) was provided in 1992, numerous studies have explored this subject but have reached contradictory results. In this review, the authors examine the existing evidence and hypotheses regarding the pathways whereby HPV infection can reach breast cells and the mediators linking HPV oncoproteins to breast cancer pathogenesis. Furthermore, the authors discuss contradictory findings regarding the association of HPV with breast cancer. Showing the link between HPV infection and increased genomic instability, reduced apoptosis, immune system dysfunction and progression of metastasis, the reviewed findings highlight the importance of active presence or history of HPV infection as a prognostic factor for breast tumor development.

MicroRNA let-7 and viral infections: focus on mechanisms of action

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are fundamental post-transcriptional modulators of several critical cellular processes, a number of which are involved in host defense mechanisms. In particular, miRNA let-7 functions as an essential regulator of the function and differentiation of both innate and adaptive immune cells. Let-7 is involved in several human diseases, including cancer and viral infections. Several viral infections have found ways to dysregulate the expression of miRNAs. Extracellular vesicles (EV) are membrane-bound lipid structures released from many types of human cells that can transport proteins, lipids, mRNAs, and miRNAs, including let-7. After their release, EVs are taken up by the recipient cells and their contents released into the cytoplasm. Let-7-loaded EVs have been suggested to affect cellular pathways and biological targets in the recipient cells, and can modulate viral replication, the host antiviral response, and the action of cancer-related viruses. In the present review, we summarize the available knowledge concerning the expression of let-7 family members, functions, target genes, and mechanistic involvement in viral pathogenesis and host defense. This may provide insight into the development of new therapeutic strategies to manage viral infections.

Breast Cancer Risk and Human Papillomavirus Infection: A Bradford Hill Criteria Based Evaluation

BACKGROUND

The association between human papillomavirus (HPV) and human breast cancer (BC) has already been thoroughly studied worldwide with contradictory findings. Although the researchers have tried to minimize the conflict using statistical meta-analysis, because of its shortcomings, there is still a need to evaluate the correlation between HPV and BC using any additional method.

OBJECTIVES

This study was launched to investigate the correlation between HPV and BC through the application of Bradford Hill criteria postulates.

METHODS

Population-wide studies associating HPV with BC were searched using the PubMed database. Then, the information of HPV burden in BC, normal/benign samples was analyzed, and ultimately Bradford Hill criteria postulates were applied on the collected evidence to explore the relationship between HPV and BC. In addition, to make the outcomes more authentic, we also reviewed the methodologies of previous studies to address the propensity of false results.

RESULTS

After a careful evaluation of the obtained data against major Bradford Hill criteria postulates, it was noted that all these postulates including strength, consistency, biological gradient, temporality, plausibility, experiment, specificity, and analogy were not fulfilled.

CONCLUSION

The results of the present study have failed to establish a casual association between HPV and BC rather suggested HPV as a cause-effective agent or at least a co-participant in the pathogenesis of BC. The weakness of association especially the low level of consistency across studies, and the lack of specificity of effect, there is a need for more experiments concerning Bradford Hill criteria postulates.

Low frequency of HPV positivity in breast tumors among patients from south-central Poland

Background

Some studies suggest that Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection is important factor in carcinogenesis of breast tumors. This study’ objective was to analyze HPV prevalence in breast cancers of patients from south-central Poland.

Materials and methods

The study was performed based on archival paraffin embebbed and formalin fixed blocks in the group of 383 patients with breast cancer. HPV prevalence and its genotype were assessed, respectively by: nested PCR (with two groups of primers: PGMY09/PGMY11 and GP5+/GP6+), quantitative PCR (qPCR). Tumors were classified as HPV positive in case of at least one positive result in nested PCR and positive results in genotyping procedure. For all HPV positive tissues P16 immunostaining was applied in order to confirm active viral infection.

Results

In the group of 383 breast cancers, HPV positivity was found in 17 samples (4.4%) in nested PCR. All these samples were subjected to HPV genotyping. This analysis revealed presence of HPV type 16 into two tumors (0.5%). In these two cancers, P16 overexpression was reported.

Conclusion

In breast tumors of patients from south-central Poland in Poland, HPV positivity is demonstrated in very low percentage of cases.

Role of interleukin-17 in human papillomavirus infection and associated malignancies

Human papillomavirus infection is among the leading viral infections in the world, causing severe mortality and morbidity. The virus mainly targets the female genital tract-cervix, vulva, anus but it is also reported to infect the lungs and oropharyngeal region of the body. The host immune response plays a vital role in the persistence of viral infection. Interleukin 17 (IL-17) is mainly secreted by Th17 cells and mediates the immune response that enhances the disease severity in HPV infection. IL-17 is reported to promote lesions and tumour progression by creating a hyperinflammatory condition leading to cancer. The current minireview summarizes the pathogenic role of IL-17 in HPV infection and HPV-induced malignancies. Further study on IL-17 associated pathology of HPV infection would be useful in developing therapeutic measures.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of the papillomavirus prevalence in breast cancer fresh tissues

BACKGROUND

Although widely studied, the role of HPV in the genesis of breast carcinomas remains elusive due to the diversity of results across studies, possibly caused by the wide methodological heterogeneity, some of them with inadequate methods.

OBJECTIVE

To verify the association between HPV and breast cancer through the meta-analysis of studies that used the best-recognized techniques for viral detection and tissue conservation.

METHODS

A systematic review and meta-analysis restricted to studies that detected HPV by PCR in fresh and frozen tissue from breast cancer were conducted to obtain greater homogeneity. PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Cochrane Library, and SciELO were searched until December 14, 2019. Search terms included "breast cancer" and "HPV" without language restrictions. Eleven studies were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled relative risks and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated, and heterogeneity was assessed using the I-squared (I2).

RESULTS

The selected studies had very low heterogeneity (2%). There is a 2.15 times higher combined relative risk (95% CI = 1.60-2.89) of detecting HPV in breast cancer than in cancer-free breast controls with a statistically significant p-value (p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

Our data support the association of DNA-HPV with breast carcinomas. Further studies are needed to find out which breast cancer subtypes this association is most frequent.

Presence of high-risk HPVs, EBV, and MMTV in human triple-negative breast cancer

Breast cancer, the most frequent disease amongst women worldwide, accounts for the highest cancer-related mortality rate. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtype encompasses ~15% of all breast cancers and lack estrogen, progesterone, and HER2 receptors. Although risk factors for breast cancer are well-known, factors underpinning breast cancer onset and progression remain unknown. Recent studies suggest the plausible role of oncoviruses including human papillomaviruses (HPVs), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) in breast cancer pathogenesis. However, the role of these oncoviruses in TNBC is still unclear. In the current study, we explored the status of high-risk HPVs, EBV, and MMTV in a well-defined TNBC cohort from Croatia in comparison to 16 normal/non TNBC samples (controls) using polymerase chain reaction assay. We found high-risk HPVs and EBV present in 37/70 (53%) and 25/70 (36%) of the cases, respectively. The most common HPV types are 52, 45, 31, 58 and 68. We found 16% of the samples positive for co-presence of high-risk HPVs and EBV. Moreover, our data revealed that 5/70 (7%) samples are positive for MMTV. In addition, only 2/70 (3%) samples had co-presence of HPVs, EBV, and MMTV without any significant association with the clinicopathological variables. While, 6/16 (37.5%) controls were positive for HPV (p = .4), EBV was absent in all controls (0/16, 0%) (p = .01). In addition, we did not find the co-presence of the oncoviruses in the controls (p > .05). Nevertheless, further investigations are essential to understand the underlying mechanisms of multiple-oncogenic viruses' interaction in breast carcinogenesis, especially TNBC.

An Emerging Role for Calcium Signaling in Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts

Tumors exist in a complex milieu where interaction with their associated microenvironment significantly contributes to disease progression. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are the primary component of the tumor microenvironment and participate in complex bidirectional communication with tumor cells. CAFs support the development of various hallmarks of cancer through diverse processes, including direct cell-cell contact, paracrine signaling, and remodeling and deposition of the extracellular matrix. Calcium signaling is a key second messenger in intra- and inter-cellular signaling pathways that contributes to cancer progression; however, the links between calcium signaling and CAFs are less well-explored. In this review, we put into context the role of calcium signaling in interactions between cancer cells and CAFs, with a focus on migration, proliferation, chemoresistance, and genetic instability.

Implications of viral infection in cancer development

Since the identification of the first human oncogenic virus in 1964, viruses have been studied for their potential role in aiding the development of cancer. Through the modulation of cellular pathways associated with proliferation, immortalization, and inflammation, viral proteins can mimic the effect of driver mutations and contribute to transformation. Aside from the modulation of signaling pathways, the insertion of viral DNA into the host genome and the deregulation of cellular miRNAs represent two additional mechanisms implicated in viral oncogenesis. In this review, we will discuss the role of twelve different viruses on cancer development and how these viruses utilize the abovementioned mechanisms to influence oncogenesis. The identification of specific mechanisms behind viral transformation of human cells could further elucidate the process behind cancer development.

Human Papillomavirus in Breast Carcinogenesis: A Passenger, a Cofactor, or a Causal Agent?

Simple Summary

Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequent tumor in women worldwide. A minority of BC patients have a family history of the disease, suggesting the importance of environmental and lifestyle factors. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection has been detected in a subset of tumors, suggesting a potential role in BC. In this review, we summarized relevant information in respect to this topic and we propose a model of HPV-mediated breast carcinogenesis. Evidence suggests that breast tissue is accessible to HPV, which may be a causal agent of BC in a subset of cases.

Abstract

Breast cancer (BC) is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in women worldwide as well as the leading cause of cancer-related death in this gender. Studies have identified that human papillomavirus (HPV) is a potential risk factor for BC development. While vaccines that protect against oncogenic HPVs infection have been commercially available, global disparities persist due to their high cost. Interestingly, numerous authors have detected an increased high risk (HR)-HPV infection in BC specimens when compared with non-tumor tissues. Therefore, it was suggested that HR-HPV infection could play a role in breast carcinogenesis in a subset of cases. Additional epidemiological and experimental evidence is still needed regarding the role of HR-HPV infection in the development and progression of BC.

Possible role of HPV/EBV coinfection in anoikis resistance and development in prostate cancer

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to evaluate the possible role of human papillomavirus (HPV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) coinfection as an etiological factor for prostate cancer (PCa) development.

METHODS

This case-control study was conducted on 67 patients with PCa and 40 control subjects. The expression levels of cellular and viral factors involved in inflammation, tumor progression, and metastasis were quantified, using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay.

RESULTS

The EBV/HPV coinfection was reported in 14.9% of patients in the case group and 7.5% of the control subjects. The high-risk types of HPV, that is, HPV 16 and HPV 18, were responsible for 50 and 30% of HPV/EBV-coinfected PCa cases (n = 10), respectively. No significant relationship was observed between PCa and HPV/EBV coinfection (OR = 2.9, 95% CI: 0.18-45.2, P = 0.31). However, the highest percentage of HPV genome integration was found in the HPV/EBV-coinfected PCa group (8/10; 80%). Also, the mean expression levels of inflammatory factors (IL-17, IL-6, TNF-α, NF-κB, VEGF, ROS, and RNS), anti-apoptotic mediators (Bcl-2 and survivin), and anti-anoikis factors (Twist and N-cadherin) were significantly higher in the HPV/EBV-coinfected PCa group, compared to the non-coinfected PCa cases. Nevertheless, the tumor-suppressor proteins (p53 and pRb) and E-cadherin (inhibitor of anoikis resistance) showed significant downregulations in the HPV/EBV-coinfected PCa group, compared to the non-coinfected PCa cases.

CONCLUSION

The HPV/EBV coinfection may be an etiological factor for PCa through modulation of cellular behaviors.

Presence of HPV, EBV and HMTV Viruses Among Egyptian Breast Cancer Women: Molecular Detection and Clinical Relevance

Background

Oncogenic viruses, their possible association with breast cancer (BC) and effect on its clinical course are interesting issue. The present study evaluates the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV), EpsteinBarr virus (EBV), and human mammary tumor virus (HMTV) in BC and their relation with clinico-pathological characteristics.

Patients and Methods

This study was conducted on 80 Egyptian women with BC and 30 control women without known oncological disease. Forty formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues, forty fresh tissue samples, and white blood cells (WBCs) of BC patients and WBCs of controls were subjected to a qualitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure viral loads in fresh tissues of BC. The result was correlated with clinico-pathological characteristics of BC.

Results

HPV was detected in 33 (41.25%), EBV in 30 (37.5%) and HMTV in 33 (41.25%) BC patients. None of the control women was positive for HPV or EBV while HMTV was detected in 7 (23.3%). Among 40 BC WBCs specimens, HPV/HMTV were found together in 25%, followed by EBV/HMTV in 2.5% and EBV/HPV in 2.5%. However, the three viruses (HPV/EBV/HMTV) were found together in only 5%. In the 40 fresh BC tissues, the three viruses were found together in 12 (30%), EBV/HMTV in 7 (17.5%), HPV/HMTV in 4 (10%), and HPV/EBV in 4 (10%). EBV, HMTV, or multiple viral infections were associated with younger age of BC women. HPV, EBV, and HMTV median loads in fresh tissues were 4.8×10³ copies/μL, 6.3×10³ copies/μL, and 97 copies/μL, respectively.

Conclusion

WBCs could be a more suitable specimen instead of fresh tissue for HMTV detection in BC patients to avoid invasive procedures. The presence of HPV, EBV, and HMTV together in Egyptian women with BC was significantly associated with younger age.

Tumor-related Microbiome in the Breast Microenvironment and Breast Cancer

Despite the significant progress in diagnosis and treatment over the past years in the understanding of breast cancer pathophysiology, it remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide among females. Novel technologies are needed to improve better diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, and to better understand the role of tumor-environment microbiome players involved in the progression of this disease. The gut environment is enriched with over 100 trillion microorganisms, which participate in metabolic diseases, obesity, and inflammation, and influence the response to therapy. In addition to the direct metabolic effects of the gut microbiome, accumulating evidence has revealed that a microbiome also exists in the breast and in breast cancer tissue. This microbiome enriched in the breast environment and the tumor microenvironment may modulate effects potentially associated with carcinogenesis and therapeutic interventions in breast tissue, which to date have not been properly acknowledged. Herein, we review the most recent works associated with the population dynamics of breast microbes and explore the significance of the microbiome on diagnosis, tumor development, response to chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, and immunotherapy. To overcome the low reproducibility of evaluations of tumor-related microbiome, sequencing technical escalation and machine deep learning algorithms may be valid for standardization of assessment for breast-related microbiome and their applications as powerful biomarkers for prognosis and predictive response in the future.

High-risk human papillomaviruses and Epstein-Barr virus in breast cancer in Lebanese women and their association with tumor grade: a molecular and tissue microarray study

Background

High-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are present and can cooperate with Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) to initiate and/or enhance the progression of several types of human carcinomas including cervical as well as head and neck; in parallel, it has been recently pointed out that these oncoviruses can be detected in human breast cancers. Thus, we herein explored the presence/co-presence of high-risk HPVs and EBV in breast cancer in Lebanese women.

Methods

A cohort of 102 breast cancer samples and 14 normal breast tissues were assessed for the presence of HPVs and EBV. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis in addition to tissue microarray (TMA) platform were used in this study.

Results

We found the presence of HPV in 66/102 (65%) of our samples, while EBV is present in 41/102 (40%) of the cohort. Additionally, our data showed that high-risk HPV types (52, 35, 58, 45, 16 and 51) are the most frequent in breast cancer in Lebanese women. Meanwhile, we report that high-risk HPVs and EBV are co-present in 30/102 (29%) of the samples; more significantly, our results indicate that their co-presence is associated with tumor grade (p = 0.03).

Conclusion

Our data revealed that HPVs and EBV are present/co-present in human breast cancer where they may play an important role in its development and/or progression; thus, we believe that further investigations are essential to confirm and elucidate the presence/co-presence of these oncoviruses and the underlying mechanisms of their interaction in breast carcinogenesis.

Effects of infections on the pathogenesis of cancer

Several studies have shown an inverse relationship between acute infections and cancer development. On the other hand, there is a growing evidence that chronic infections may contribute significantly to the carcinogenesis. Factors responsible for increased susceptibility to infections may include modifications of normal defence mechanisms or impairment of host immunity due to altered immune function, genetic polymorphisms, ageing and malnourishment. Studies have demonstrated that children exposed to febrile infectious diseases show a subsequent reduced risk for ovarian cancer, melanoma and many other cancers, while common acute infections in adults are associated with reduced risks for melanoma, glioma, meningioma and multiple cancers. Chronic inflammation associated with certain infectious diseases has been suggested as a cause for the development of tumours. Mechanisms of carcinogenesis due to infections include cell proliferation and DNA replication by mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, production of toxins that affect the cell cycle and lead to abnormal cell growth and inhibition of apoptosis. This review was aimed to summarize the available evidence on acute infections as a means of cancer prevention and on the role of chronic infections in the development and progression of cancer.

A nomogram based on combining systemic and hepatic inflammation markers for predicting microscopic bile duct tumour thrombus in hepatocellular carcinoma

Background

Bile duct invasion is a relatively rare event and is not well characterised in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It remains very difficult to diagnose HCC with bile duct tumour thrombus (BDTT) before surgery. Increasing evidence has revealed that inflammation plays a critical role in tumorigenesis. This study aimed to develop nomograms based on systemic and hepatic inflammation markers to predict microscopic BDTT (micro-BDTT) before surgery in HCC.

Methods

A total of 723 HCC patients who underwent hepatectomy as initial therapy between January 2012 and June 2020 were included in the study. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent risk factors for micro-BDTT. The nomograms were constructed using significant predictors, including α-fetoprotein (AFP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), direct bilirubin (DB), prognostic nutritional index (PNI), and γ-glutamyl transferase (γ-GT)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT). The prediction accuracies of the nomograms were evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.

Results

AFP, ALP, DB, PNI, and γ-GT/ALT were independent risk factors for predicting micro-BDTT (P = 0.036, P = 0.004, P = 0.013, P = 0.012, and P = 0.006, respectively), which were assembled into the nomograms. The area under the ROC curve of the nomograms combining PNI and γ-GT/ALT for predicting micro-BDTT was 0.804 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.730–0.878). The sensitivity and specificity values when used in predicting micro-BDTT before surgery were 0.739 (95% CI: 0.612–0.866) and 0.781 (95% CI: 0.750–0.813), respectively.

Conclusions

The nomogram based on combining systemic and hepatic inflammation markers is suitable for predicting micro-BDTT before surgery in HCC patients, leading to a rational therapeutic choice for HCC.

Oncoproteins of High-Risk HPV and EBV Cooperate to Enhance Cell Motility and Invasion of Human Breast Cancer Cells via Erk1/Erk2 and β-Catenin Signaling Pathways

Breast cancer is a leading cause of death in women around the world. Most breast cancer-related deaths are a result of complications from the metastatic spread. Several recent studies reported that high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) are co-presented in different types of human carcinomas including breast; however, the cooperative effects between high-risk HPVs and EBV oncoproteins in human breast cancer have not been investigated yet. Thus, we herein explored the cooperation outcome between E6/E7 and latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) oncoproteins of high-risk HPV type 16 and EBV, respectively, in two human breast cancer cell lines, MCF7 and MDA-MB-231. Our data revealed that the cooperation of E6/E7 and LMP1 oncoproteins stimulates cell proliferation and deregulates cell cycle progression of human breast cancer and normal mammary cells; in parallel, we noted that E6/E7/LMP1 incite colony formation of both breast cancer cell lines but not normal cells. More significantly, our results point out that the co-expression of E6/E7 and LMP1 oncoproteins enhances cell motility and invasion of MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines; this is accompanied by deregulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition biomarkers including E-cadherin, β-catenin, fascin, and vimentin. The molecular pathway analysis of HPV and EBV oncoproteins cooperation shows that it can enhance the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (Erk1/Erk2) in addition to β-catenin, which could be behind the effect of this cooperation in our cell models. The study clearly suggests that high-risk HPV and EBV coinfection can play an important role in breast cancer progression via Erk1/Erk2 and β-catenin signaling pathways.

Tissue Microbiome Associated With Human Diseases by Whole Transcriptome Sequencing and 16S Metagenomics

In recent years, a substantial number of tissue microbiome studies have been published, mainly due to the recent improvements in the minimization of microbial contamination during whole transcriptome analysis. Another reason for this trend is due to the capability of next-generation sequencing (NGS) to detect microbiome composition even in low biomass samples. Several recent studies demonstrate a significant role for the tissue microbiome in the development and progression of cancer and other diseases. For example, the increase of the abundance of Proteobacteria in tumor tissues of the breast has been revealed by gene expression analysis. The link between human papillomavirus infection and cervical cancer has been known for some time, but the relationship between the microbiome and breast cancer (BC) is more novel. There are also recent attempts to investigate the possible link between the brain microbiome and the cognitive dysfunction caused by neurological diseases. Such studies pointing to the role of the brain microbiome in Huntington’s disease (HD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) suggest that microbial colonization is a risk factor. In this review, we aim to summarize the studies that associate the tissue microbiome, rather than gut microbiome, with cancer and other diseases using whole-transcriptome analysis, along with 16S rRNA analysis. After providing several case studies for each relationship, we will discuss the potential role of transcriptome analysis on the broader portrayal of the pathophysiology of the breast, brain, and vaginal microbiome.

Gynaecological cancers and their cell lines

Cell lines are widely used for various research purposes including cancer and drug research. Recently, there have been studies that pointed to discrepancies in the literature and usage of cell lines. That is why we have prepared a comprehensive overview of the most common gynaecological cancer cell lines, their literature, a list of currently available cell lines, and new findings compared with the original studies. A literature review was conducted via MEDLINE, PubMed and ScienceDirect for reviews in the last 5 years to identify research and other studies related to gynaecological cancer cell lines. We present an overview of the current literature with reference to the original studies and pointed to certain inconsistencies in the literature. The adherence to culturing rulesets and the international guidelines helps in minimizing replication failure between institutions. Evidence from the latest research suggests that despite certain drawbacks, variations of cancer cell lines can also be useful in regard to a more diverse genomic landscape.

Human papillomavirus and prostate cancer: The role of viral expressed proteins in the inhibition of anoikis and induction of metastasis

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study is to address the role of HPV in prostate cancer (PCa) development through the inducement of resistance to anoikis.

METHODS

In this case-control study, prostate tissues and blood samples were collected from 116 individuals, including 72 cases with PCa and 44 non-malignant prostate tissue samples as a control group. The expression level of HPV genes (E2, E6, and E7) and cellular genes including anti-apoptotic mediators (Bcl-2 and survivin), tumor suppressor proteins (Rb and p53), and some mediators involved in anoikis resistance and invasiveness (E-cadherin, N-cadherin, Twist, PTPN13 and SLUG) were evaluated.

RESULTS

HPV genome was identified in 36.1% cases and 15.9% control samples, additionally there was found to be a statistic significant association between the presence of HPV and PCa (OR = 1.64, 95% C.I = 0.8-1.8, P-value = 0.023). HPV genotype 16 and 18 were the most prevalent genotype in both in the PCa group and the control group. The expression level of the tumor suppressor proteins (Rb and p53) and anti-apoptotic mediators (Bcl-2 and Survivin) were significantly decreased and increased, respectively, in the HPV-positive specimens compared to the HPV-negative specimens. Furthermore, the mean expression level of N-cadherin, SLUG, and TWIST in the HPV-positive specimens was higher than HPV-negative specimens while the mean expression level of PTPN-13 and E-cadherin genes in the HPV-positive specimens was lower than HPV-negative specimens.

CONCLUSION

Our study suggests that HPV infection may be involved in the development of PCa metastases by modulating anoikis resistance related genes.