Abstract

Background: Whether there is any relationship between human papilloma virus (HPV) and breast carcinoma is not clear. Some previous studies have indicated a possible role in oncogenesis in the breast. In this study, we therefore analyzed the presence of HPV infection in breast tissues of Iranian women from Yazd city. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues from 87 patients with breast cancer and 84 cases with breast fibrocystic lesions (control group) were selected from a tissue archive. Grade of tumors and fibrocystic tissues were determined by two pathologists. The nested-PCR method was performed for detection of HPVs in samples. HPV genotypes were determined by sequencing and the phylogenetic tree depicted by MEGA software. Results: Of the 87 women with breast cancer, 22.9 (20 isolates) had positive results for HPV DNA. In the control group no HPV was detected. The HPV genotypes in positive samples were HPV-16 (35) HPV-18 (15), HPV-6 (45) and HPV-11 (5). The data did not approved a significant correlation between tissue pathology of breast cancer and the HPV genotype frequency. Conclusions: The data did not provide any evidence for a role of high risk HPV types in oncogenesis in the breast.