title: High prevalence of human cytomegalovirus proteins and nucleic acids in primary breast cancer and metastatic sentinel lymph nodes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Breast cancer is a leading cause of death among women worldwide. Increasing evidence implies that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is associated with several malignancies. We aimed to examine whether HCMV is present in breast cancer and sentinel lymph node (SLN) metastases.
  
  
  METHODS
  Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue specimens from breast cancer and paired sentinel lymph node (SLN) samples were obtained from patients with (n = 35) and without SLN metastasis (n = 38). HCMV immediate early (IE) and late (LA) proteins were detected using a sensitive immunohistochemistry (IHC) technique and HCMV DNA by real-time PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HCMV IE and LA proteins were abundantly expressed in 100% of breast cancer specimens. In SLN specimens, 94% of samples with metastases (n = 34) were positive for HCMV IE and LA proteins, mostly confined to neoplastic cells while some inflammatory cells were HCMV positive in 60% of lymph nodes without metastases (n = 35). The presence of HCMV DNA was confirmed in 12/12 (100%) of breast cancer and 10/11 (91%) SLN specimens from the metastatic group, but was not detected in 5/5 HCMV-negative, SLN-negative specimens. There was no statistically significant association between HCMV infection grades and progesterone receptor, estrogen receptor alpha and Elston grade status.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The role of HCMV in the pathogenesis of breast cancer is unclear. As HCMV proteins were mainly confined to neoplastic cells in primary breast cancer and SLN samples, our observations raise the question whether HCMV contributes to the tumorigenesis of breast cancer and its metastases.
authors: Department of Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors: Chato
authors: C
authors: Taher
authors: Jana
authors: J
authors: de Boniface
authors: Abdul-Aleem
authors: AA
authors: Mohammad
authors: Piotr
authors: P
authors: Religa
authors: Johan
authors: J
authors: Hartman
authors: Koon-Chu
authors: KC
authors: Yaiw
authors: Jan
authors: J
authors: Frisell
authors: Afsar
authors: A
authors: Rahbar
authors: Cecilia
authors: C
authors: Söderberg-Naucler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology*; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014764:Viral Proteins