Is the HERV-K HML-2 Xq21.33, an endogenous retrovirus mutated by gene conversion of chromosome X in a subset of African populations, associated with human breast cancer?

Table 1 Prevalence of Xq21.33 Detection in African Women with or without Breast Cancer

Age	BrC No Xq21.33	BrC Xq21.33	No BrC No Xq21.33	No BrC Xq21.33	(chi square test, p value)
15–19	0	0	1	0
20–24	2	0	3	1
25–29	12	0	25	3
30–34	17	4	31	5
35–39	38	4	38	4
40–44	36	4	41	5
Total pre-menopausal	105	12	139	18	X² = 0.100 p < 0.3757 (ns)
45–49	23	3	26	3
50–54	27	8	8	0
55–59	16	2	11	1
60–64	7	1	5	0
65–69	6	0	0	0
70–74	1	0	0	0
75–79	3	0	0	0
80–84	0	0	0	0
85–89	0	1	0	0
Total post-menopausal	83	15	50	4	X² = 1.986 p < 0.079 (ns)
Age unknown	1		8
Total	189	27	197	22

Detection of HK2 Xq21.33 provirus in the DNA of BrC and control women (No BrC) in populations from African ancestry. The P values show the statistical significance difference of Xq21.33 virus detection between pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women with and without BrC. The statistical test Chi-square without Yates correction was used. The X² and p values are indicated. There is no statistical difference between the prevalence of Xq21.33 in the pre-menopausal women but the prevalence of Xq21.33 in post-menopausal women is approximately double that in women without breast cancer but this is also not statistically different at a p value of <.05

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