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

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) and risk of breast cancer; a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The role of viruses in the development of breast cancer has been a subject of debate and extensive research over the past few decades. Several studies have examined the association between Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infection and the risk of developing breast cancer; however, their findings have yielded inconsistent results. To address this uncertainty, the purpose of the present study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine any potential association between BLV and breast cancer.

METHODS

The literature search was performed by finding related articles from PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, EMBASE, and ScienceDirect databases. Statistical analysis was conducted using the meta package in R Studio and Review Manager 5.1. The I2 test was used to assess between-study heterogeneity. The Mantel-Haenszel method calculated the pooled odds ratio and its 95% confidence interval. Studies were divided into subgroups for comparison.

RESULTS

The literature search identified a total of 17 studies that were deemed suitable for inclusion in the systematic review. Out of these 17 studies, 12 were used in the subsequent meta-analysis. Combining the data from these eligible studies, we calculated the pooled multi-factor adjusted odds ratio (OR) and a 95% confidence interval (CI). Considering the heterogeneity observed across the studies, the result obtained using the fixed effects model was 2.12 (1.77, 2.54). However, upon removing the six studies that contributed significantly to the heterogeneity, the pooled OR with a 95% CI was recalculated to be 3.92 (2.98, 5.16).

CONCLUSION

The result of this study suggests that BLV infection is statistically associated with Breast cancer.

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.

Screening for High-Risk Human Papillomavirus Reveals HPV52 and HPV58 among Pediatric and Adult Patient Saliva Samples

Previous research has demonstrated that the human papillomavirus (HPV) can infect a wide range of human tissues, including those within the oral cavity. High-risk oral HPV strains have been associated with the development and progression of oral cancers, including oral squamous cell carcinomas. Although many studies have examined the prevalence of the high-risk strains HPV16 and HPV18, far fewer have assessed the prevalence of other high-risk HPV strains. An approved study protocol was used to identify HPV52 and HPV58 among clinical samples (n = 87) from a saliva biorepository. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and validated primers for HPV52 and HPV58 were used to facilitate this screening. This screening demonstrated that a total of n = 4/45 or 8.9% of adult saliva samples harbored high-risk HPV52, and n = 2/45 or 4.4% tested positive for high-risk HPV58. In addition, a total of n = 6/42 or 14.3% of the pediatric saliva samples tested positive for high-risk HPV, including n = 5/42 or 11.9% with HPV52 and n = 3/42 or 7.1% for HPV58. These data demonstrate the presence of the high-risk oncogenic HPV52 and HPV58 strains among both adult and pediatric clinical patient samples. More detailed longitudinal research must be conducted to determine whether this prevalence may be increasing or decreasing over time. In addition, these data strongly support public health prevention efforts, such as knowledge and awareness of the nine-valent HPV vaccine covering additional high-risk strains, including HPV52 and HPV58.