No evidence of human papillomavirus DNA in breast carcinoma in Tunisian patients

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of broad range of anogenital HPVs in a series of 123 Tunisian breast carcinoma cases. PCR assays were performed to amplify regions within the L1, E1, E6 and E7 open reading frames of a broad range of anogenital HPVs and specific types HPV16, 18, 31 and 33. In addition, we performed an in situ hybridization analysis using HPV biotinylated DNA probes for the detection of broad spectrum of anogenital HPV types, high-risk HPV types (16 and 18), intermediate-risk HPV types (31 and 33) and low-risk HPV types (6 and 11). None of the 123 breast carcinoma samples showed PCR amplification of HPV DNA using the broad spectrum consensus primer-pairs E1-350L/E1-547R and GP5+/GP6+ primers. Furthermore, neither high risk nor low-risk HPV types were detected in any of these cases. Moreover, using in situ hybridization for the detection of HPVs, we failed to detect a positive signal in neoplastic cells in any case. Our results suggest that anogenital papillomaviruses are unlikely to play a role in the development of breast carcinomas in Tunisian patients.