Co-prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus and high-risk human papillomaviruses in Syrian women with breast cancer.

ABSTRAT We recently performed 2 studies viewing the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) types 16, 18, 31, 33 and 35 in human breast cancer in the Syrian population. Herein, we report that EBV and high-risk HPVs are co-present in breast cancer in Syrian women. Therefore, and based on our previous studies and present data, we reveal that 35 (32%) of 108 cancer samples are positive for both EBV and high-risk HPVs and their co-presence is associated with high grade invasive ductal carcinomas (IDCs) with at least one positive lymph nodes, in comparison with EBV and high-risk HPVs-positive samples, which are low to intermediate grade IDCs, respectively. Future studies are needed to confirm the co-presence and the cooperation effect of these onco-viruses in human breast carcinogenesis and metastasis.This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) and the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec (FRSQ- Réseau du Cancer). The new research lab of Dr. Al Moustafa is supported by the College of Medicine at Qatar University