Abstract
BackgroundThe role of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) in the development of breast carcinoma is questionable. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of the immediate early antigen (IE) of HCMV in breast carcinoma and its association with some clinicopathologic factors in a population of Iranian patients.MethodsFormalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue blocks from the pathology laboratories of the Azahra and Shahid Beheshti hospitals, Isfahan, Iran, from 2013 to 2016, were used in the study. We used immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR to detect the IE-antigen of HCMV in breast carcinoma, normal tissue adjacent to carcinoma, and normal tissue from mammoplasty specimens.ResultsA total of 96 samples were evaluated: 70 invasive breast carcinoma of different histologic subtypes and 26 mammoplasty normal breast tissues. All the samples were negative for IE-antigen expression. No relationship was seen between breast cancer and HCMV in this study.ConclusionsThe results of this study failed to show any relationship between HCMV and the development of breast carcinoma.
Highlights
The role of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) in the development of breast carcinoma is questionable
Since the glandular epithelium of breast tissue can act as a reservoir of latent CMV infection [7], the aim of this study is the evaluation of the probable role of HCMV in the development of breast cancer in a population of Iranian patients, and the possible association between the presence of the virus in carcinoma tissue and some prognostic clinicopathologic parameters of the cancer
We studied the expression of the HCMV immediate early antigen (IE) antigen by immunohistochemistry in tumor cells of invasive breast carcinoma, adjacent non-neoplastic breast tissue, and normal breast parenchyma of reduction mammoplasty specimens in a limited population of Iranian women
Summary
The role of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) in the development of breast carcinoma is questionable. Breast carcinoma is the second-most-common cause of cancer-related death among women worldwide. Breast cancer-related death has decreased in recent years due to early detection and treatment [1]. The etiologic role of viral infections in some human cancers—for example, the role of hepatitis B and C viruses in hepatocellular carcinoma, and the HCMV is a member of the herpes virus family, which can remain latent lifelong after the primary infection and shows recurring activation [7].
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