Prevalence of Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) in Iranian Breast Carcinoma Patients

Abstract

Introduction: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy affecting females worldwide. Various risk factors play a role in the developing of BC. Infectious agents like viruses have been proposed for this cancer and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a widely researched candidate virus. This study detects the presence of EBV-DNA in breast cancer patients. Methods: The study was conducted on 59 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue blocks samples of women with breast carcinoma and 11 non-neoplastic breast controls. The DNA was extracted for all the samples. Then detection of EBNA1 EBV was done by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: EBV was detected in 6.7% (4/59) of patients while all breast control samples were negative. All patients with positive EBV-DNA were high tumor grades (II, and III). Also, they had a low level of educations. Conclusions: According to our findings, it can be suggested that EBV may have a potential role in breast cancer development. However, this study provides substantial but not conclusive evidence for the involvement of viruses in BC disease development. Therefore, future investigations are needed to elucidate the exact role of EBV in breast cancer.

Evaluation of the relative frequency of Epstein–Barr virus infection in patients with recurrent breast cancer compared with patients with nonrecurrent breast cancer

“…Based on this study, among 59 carcinoma samples, 6.7% had positive EBV DNA. [ 26 ] All these data were in line with the results of our study, but the important point is that we assessed the roles of EBV in recurrent breast cancer and observed no significant relationships.…”

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“…Иранские ученые провели ряд работ по изучению распространенности ВЭБ в тканях РМЖ. Исследование 2019 года включало 59 образцов РМЖ и 11 контрольных неопухолевых образцов [55]. Методом ПЦР определяли наличие гена EBNA-1 в образцах.…”

Epstein‑Barr virus as a promoter of tumorigenesis in the tumor microenvironment of breast cancer (Review)

“…According to Zanella et al ( 36 ) and others, EBV type I is the most prevalent, and it is mainly located in Europe, Asia, North and South America, and type II is more frequent in Alaska, Papua New Guinea and Central Africa, with a predominance in Kenya ( 36 , 37 - 39 ). In particular, Asian countries, such as Syria, Iran and Qatar have reported the presence of EBV associated with BC with poor responses to treatment, or with a more aggressive presentation of the disease ( 24 , 25 , 40 - 42 ). In the case of countries such as Eritrea (Northeast Africa), more aggressive cases of BC have also been reported and have been related to the presence of EBV, as described in the study by Fessahaye et al ( 43 ).…”