Prevalence of Human Herpes Virus 8 Infection and Pattern of TLR4 rs4986791 Polymorphism in Women with Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is a major cause of female death worldwide. Several factors contribute to cancer development, one of the most important of which is viruses identified by the host immune system and Toll-like receptors (TLRs). Human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8) is one of the viruses with a proven role in Kaposi’s sarcoma development.

This study aimed to investigate the correlation between HHV-8 infection and breast cancer, as well as the role of rs4986791 polymorphism in women’s health.

Blood samples of 80 healthy subjects and 80 patients suffering from breast cancer were collected (from May-September 2018). The presence of HHV-8 in the samples was examined by PCR. Also, the rs4986791 polymorphism was evaluated by nested PCRRFLP.

The results showed a significant relationship between age and breast cancer. Of 80 cancer patients and 80 healthy subjects, 17 (21.3%) and 15 (18.8%) were carriers of HHV-8, respectively. Also, there was no significant relationship between HHV-8 infection and breast cancer (P = 0.693). We found no significant relationship between the presence of virus and cancer grade (P = 0.618).

The results of rs498679 polymorphism analysis indicated that the T allele was associated with increased health phenotype and decreased risk of cancer development. Also, women with TT genotype exhibited significantly lower HHV-8 infection than the other genotypes.