14. Distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) in triple-negative breast cancer
Main Article Content
Abstract
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the subtype with the poorest prognosis, characterized by high malignancy, rapid progression, and poor response to treatment due to the absence of all three surface receptors that are targeted by current therapies. External infectious agents may be high-risk factors associated with TNBC. Our study investigated the prevalence of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) in formalin-embedded tumor tissue samples derived from 95 patients diagnosed with TNBC by amplifying the L1 gene region of HPV. Our results revealed positive HPV infection in 23 out of 95 cases (24.2%), predominantly in the 50-70 age group. Tumors with histological grade III had a higher rate of HPV positivity compared to those with grade II (32.1% vs 14.3%; p < 0.05). Our data suggest that HPV may be associated with poor differentiation of tumor cells in TNBC. This is the first study to demonstrate a potential association between HPV and TNBC in Vietnam, highlighting that infectious agents like HPV should be considered in breast cancer screening strategies more routinely.
Article Details
Keywords
Triple-negative breast cancer, HPV, L1 gene
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