HPV infection and immunochemical detection of cell-cycle markers in verrucous carcinoma of the penis

Penile verrucous carcinoma is a rare disease and little is known of its aetiology or pathogenesis. In this study we examined cell-cycle proteins expression and correlation with human papillomavirus infection in a series of 15 pure penile verrucous carcinomas from a single centre. Of 148 penile tumours, 15 (10%) were diagnosed as pure verrucous carcinomas. The expression of the cell-cycle-associated proteins p53, p21, RB, p16INK4A and Ki67 were examined by immunohistochemistry. Human papillomavirus infection was determined by polymerase chain reaction to identify a wide range of virus types. The expression of p16INK4A and Ki67 was significantly lower in verrucous carcinoma than in usual type squamous cell carcinoma, whereas the expression of p53, p21 and RB was not significantly different. p53 showed basal expression in contrast to usual type squamous cell carcinoma. Human papillomavirus infection was present in only 3 out of 13 verrucous carcinomas. Unique low-risk, high-risk and mixed viral infections were observed in each of the three cases. In conclusion, lower levels of p16INK4A and Ki67 expressions differentiate penile verrucous carcinoma from usual type squamous cell carcinoma. The low Ki67 index reflects the slow-growing nature of verrucous tumours. The low level of p16INK4A expression and human papillomavirus detection suggests that penile verrucous carcinoma pathogenesis is unrelated to human papillomavirus infection and the oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes classically altered by virus infection.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Red meat, poultry, and fish intake and breast cancer risk among Hispanic and Non-Hispanic white women: The Breast Cancer Health Disparities Study

PURPOSE: There is suggestive but limited evidence for a relationship between meat intake and breast cancer (BC) risk. Few studies included Hispanic women. We investigated the association between meats and fish intake and BC risk among Hispanic and NHW women. METHODS: The study included NHW (1,982 cases and 2,218 controls) and US Hispanics (1,777 cases and 2,218 controls) from 2 population-based case-control studies. Analyses considered menopausal status and percent Native American ancestry. We estimated pooled ORs combining harmonized data from both studies, and study and race/ethnicity specific ORs that were combined using fixed or random effects models, depending on heterogeneity levels. RESULTS: When comparing highest versus lowest tertile of intake, among NHW we observed an association between tuna intake and BC risk (pooled OR = 1.25; 95% CI = 1.05–1.50; trend p = 0.006),. Among Hispanics, we observed an association between BC risk and processed meat intake (pooled OR = 1.42; 95% CI 1.18–1.71; trend p < 0.001), and between white meat (OR = 0.80; 95% CI 0.67–0.95; trend p = 0.01) and BC risk, driven by poultry. All these findings were supported by meta-analysis using fixed or random effect models, and were restricted to estrogen receptor positive tumors. Processed meats and poultry were not associated with BC risk among NHW women; red meat and fish were not associated with BC risk in either race/ethnic groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest the presence of ethnic differences in associations between meat and BC risk that may contribute to BC disparities