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.
Highlights
Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy affecting females worldwide
Infectious agents like viruses have been proposed for this cancer and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a widely researched candidate virus
A total of 70 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples were included in this study. 59 patients were classified as cases, and the remaining 11 as controls
Summary
Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy affecting females worldwide. Various risk factors play a role in the developing of BC. This study detects the presence of EBV-DNA in breast cancer patients. 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). 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. Breast cancer is diagnosed in the late stages in DCs because in these countries early detection, diagnosis, and treatment cannot be adequately promoted (Anderson et al, 2006). Diagnosis can lead to a worthy prognosis and a high survival rate (DeSantis et al, 2016)
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