title: Prevalence of papillomaviruses, polyomaviruses, and herpesviruses in triple-negative and inflammatory breast tumors from algeria compared with other types of breast cancer tumors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The possible role of viruses in breast cancer etiology remains an unresolved question. We hypothesized that if some viruses are involved, it may be in a subgroup of breast cancers only. Epidemiological arguments drove our interest in breast cancer subgroups that are more frequent in Africa, namely inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) and triple-negative breast cancer. We tested whether viral prevalence was significantly higher in these subgroups.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred fifty-five paraffin-embedded malignant breast tumors were randomly selected at the pathology laboratory of the University Hospital of Annaba (Algeria) to include one third of IBC and two thirds of non-IBC. They were tested for the presence of DNA from 61 viral agents (46 human papillomaviruses, 10 polyomaviruses, and 5 herpesviruses) using type-specific multiplex genotyping assays, which combine multiplex PCR and bead-based Luminex technology.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Viral DNA was found in 22 (17.9%) of 123 tumors. The most prevalent viruses were EBV1 and HPV16. IBC tumors carried significantly more viruses (any type) than non-IBC tumors (30% vs. 13%, p<0.04). Similarly, triple-negative tumors displayed higher virus-positivity than non-triple-negative tumors (44% vs. 14%, p<0.009).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest an association between the presence of viral DNA and aggressive breast cancer phenotypes (IBC, triple-negative). While preliminary, they underline the importance of focusing on subgroups when studying viral etiology in breast cancer. Further studies on viruses in breast cancer should be conducted in much larger samples to confirm these initial findings.
authors.affiliation: Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Marilys
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Corbex
authors.affiliation: Badji Mokhtar University, Faculty of Medicine, Annaba, Algeria; University Hospital, Annaba, Algeria.
authors.forename: Sabiha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bouzbid
authors.affiliation: Hospices Civils de Lyon, Laboratoire d'Anatomie Pathologique, Université Lyon 1, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Traverse-Glehen
authors.affiliation: Badji Mokhtar University, Faculty of Medicine, Annaba, Algeria; University Hospital, Annaba, Algeria.
authors.forename: Hayette
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Aouras
authors.affiliation: Infections and Cancer Biology Group, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McKay-Chopin
authors.affiliation: Molecular Pathology Group, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carreira
authors.affiliation: Badji Mokhtar University, Faculty of Medicine, Annaba, Algeria; University Hospital, Annaba, Algeria; Cytology and pathology laboratory, University Hospital, Annaba, Algeria.
authors.forename: Abdelaziz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lankar
authors.affiliation: Infections and Cancer Biology Group, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tommasino
authors.affiliation: Infections and Cancer Biology Group, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Tarik
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gheit
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000462:Algeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D006564:Herpesviridae; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D052162:Human papillomavirus 16; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011120:Polyomavirus; D027601:Polyomavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*