Phakathi, Boitumelo Precious2022-09-062022-09-062021https://hdl.handle.net/10539/33151A thesis submitted in fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 2021Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. In sub-Saharan Africa, breast cancer overall survival has been poor, with an estimated five-year survival of 50% compared to almost 90% in high-income countries. In South Africa, it remains the most common cancer among women. Moreover, South Africa has the largest global burden of HIV infection and the most extensive antiretroviral treatment (ART) programme. How HIV infection and ART use affect the clinicopathological characteristics and molecular-based intrinsic subtypes, and the overall survival of patients with breast cancer remains unknown. Our aim, therefore, was to investigate the association of HIV infection and ART use with the clinicopathological presentation of breast cancer, PAM 50 intrinsic subtypes and breast cancer survival in a South African urban female population known to have a high HIV prevalence.enThesis