HPV in breast cancer: prevalence and comparison with healthy tissue-a systematic review and meta-analysis
Abstract
Introduction: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among women worldwide, with over 2.3 million new cases annually. Recent studies suggest that Human Papillomavirus (HPV), a known oncogenic virus, may be involved in BC development. This study investigates HPV prevalence in BC samples and its potential role in tumorigenesis.
Methods: Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted to estimate raw proportions and odds ratio (OR), with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Heterogeneity was assessed using I2. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Analyses were performed in R 4.5.0 RESULTS: Our meta-analysis encompassed 82 studies and evaluated 7,683 breast cancer (BC) tissue samples to assess the presence of HPV. The overall prevalence of HPV in BC specimens was estimated at 23% (95%CI: 19%-28%). When stratified by continent, Oceania exhibited the highest regional prevalence at 38%. Comparative analysis between BC tissues and healthy controls revealed a significantly increased likelihood of HPV detection in the cancer group (OR 5.06; P < 0.001). This association remained statistically robust in both case-control (OR 6.34; P < 0.001) and cross-sectional designs (OR 2.83; P < 0.001). Among continents, South America demonstrated the most pronounced association (OR 11.66; P = 0.005). Subgroup analysis based on economic classification indicated that countries with low-income settings had the highest HPV prevalence (34%; 95%CI: 9%-73%). Evaluation by BC subtype revealed that…
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