Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) frequency in tissue samples of women with breast cancer in Mashhad, Iran

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world that its incidence rate has increased over the last decade. Although the causes and risk factors of breast cancer are not fully known, studies have been reported on the relationship between breast cancer and viral agents, including the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Therefore, the present study was performed with aim to explore the correlation between EBV and breast cancer.

In this cross-sectional study which was conducted using breast tissue pathology samples collected from Mashhad hospitals between 2017 and 2022, 30 paraffin tissue samples from breast cancer patients and 33 paraffin tissue samples as a control group from benign breast diseases were collected. After the DNA extraction processes, the EBV virus was tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Data analysis was done using SPSS software (version 20) and Chi-square, Fisher's exact and t-test. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

According to the PCR results of 63 tissue biopsy samples, none of the malignant and control group samples were EBV-positive.

The presence of the EBV virus gene was not confirmed in a group of women with breast cancer in Mashhad. However, further studies with a larger sample size are needed to validate the results.