Abstract
BackgroundIt has long been suggested that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) might be involved in human oncogenesis. However, whether HCMV was associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) was still controversial. ObjectiveTo clarify whether HCMV specifically infects the tumorous tissue of CRC. Study designPaired tumor and adjacent non-neoplastic CRC specimens were collected from 163 patients. HCMV DNA was detected and quantified through PCR and quantitative real-time PCR. Virus location was determined by in situ hybridization (ISH) of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections with an HCMV-specific probe. ResultsBy PCR, HCMV DNA was detected in 42.3% (69/163) of the tumor specimens, while only 5.6%(14/163) samples of adjacent non-neoplastic tissue were positive for HCMV (p<0.0001). Quantitative real-time PCR in 54 sample pairs revealed significantly higher viral copies in the tumor specimens than the adjacent non-neoplastic tissue specimens (p<0.001). By ISH, the nucleic acids of HCMV were detected in the cytoplasm of neoplastic epithelium. No hybridization was detected in the inflammatory infiltrates, submucosa, or other stromal tissues. ConclusionsHCMV preferentially infects the tumor epithelium of CRC. How the virus subsists in and interacts with the microenvironment of tumor epithelium of CRC should be studied.
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