Human cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus infections in breast cancer: A molecular study on Iranian women

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Ghaffari, Hadi^a | Tavakoli, Ahmad^{b; c} | Nafissi, Nahid^d | Farahmand, Mohammad^e | Ghorbani, Saied^b | Moochani, Somayeh Sadat^b | Hashemi-Bahremani, Mohammad^f | Alebouyeh, Mahmoud Reza^g | Monavari, Seyed Hamidreza^b;

Affiliations: [a] Department of Bacteriology and Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran | [b] Department of Medical Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran | [c] Research Center of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran | [d] Department of Surgery, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran | [e] Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran | [f] Department of Pathology, Imam Hossein Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran | [g] Department of Anesthesia, Faculty of Medicine, Rasoul Akram Medical Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Seyed Hamidreza Monavari, Professor, Department of Medical Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Hemmat Highway, Tehran, Iran. Tel./Fax: +98 (021)88602205; E-mail: monavari.hr@iums.ac.ir

Abstract: BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:The role of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections in breast cancer pathology is not well understood. Our study aimed to investigate the association of HCMV and EBV infections with breast cancer and distinguish the types of positive EBV and LMP-1 samples in Iranian patients. METHODS:Seventy-two formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) breast cancer tissues were analyzed between December 2014 and April 2016. Samples were analyzed for HCMV and EBV using nested-PCR and conventional PCR assays, respectively. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software version 18. RESULTS:Overall, HCMV and EBV genomes were detected in 6.9% and 16.7% of FFPE breast cancer tissues, respectively. Clinical factors were not statistically associated with the presence of HCMV and EBV. CONCLUSION:In this study, we reported EBV and LMP-1 typing in breast carcinoma cases for the first time in Iran. Our findings indicate that HCMV and EBV infections are not associated with the development of breast cancer.

Keywords: HCMV, EBV, breast cancer, carcinoma

DOI: 10.3233/BD-201019

Journal: Breast Disease, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 227-233, 2021