title: Multiplex PCR/mass spectrometry screening of biological carcinogenic agents in human mammary tumors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  While many studies have suggested a possible link between breast cancer pathogenesis and infection by viruses, the role of viruses in breast carcinogenesis remains controversial.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We analyzed the prevalence of 30 oncogenic human papillomaviruses (HPVs), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Kaposi's sarcoma herpes virus (KSHV) and six polyomaviruses in breast tumor specimens.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed breast specimens from 100 breast cancer patients (group 1) and 50 benign breast disease patients (group 2) from Shaanxi Province in China. We also screened for the viruses in blood samples from the patients and 96 female blood donor volunteers (group 3).
  
  
  RESULTS
  EBV, Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) and HPV-18 were detected in 60, 14 and 2 breast cancer patients, respectively, and EBV and MCPyV were detected in 16 and 1 benign breast disease patients, respectively. EBV and MCPyV were more prevalent in group 1 than in group 2 (EBV: 60.0% vs. 32.0%, p = 0.0012; MCPyV: 14.0% vs. 2.0%; p = 0.02). In contrast, there was no difference in the prevalence of EBV and MCPyV in blood samples between group 1 and group 2, group 1 and group 3. EBV was detected in malignant breast tissue and its presence was confined to the malignant cells using in situ hybridization.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found that EBV and MCPyV were more prevalent in the tumors of women with breast cancer than in samples from women with benign breast disease. Our results support an etiologic role for EBV in breast cancer pathogenesis in Chinese patients.
authors.affiliation: MOH Key Laboratory of Systems Biology of Pathogens, Institute of Pathogen Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Junping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular and Endocrine Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular and Endocrine Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Haijun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Agena Bioscience, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Junhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: MOH Key Laboratory of Systems Biology of Pathogens, Institute of Pathogen Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular and Endocrine Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular and Endocrine Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yonggang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular and Endocrine Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Juliang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular and Endocrine Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chenyang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular and Endocrine Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: chenjh@fmmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jianghao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular and Endocrine Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: vascular@fmmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: MOH Key Laboratory of Systems Biology of Pathogens, Institute of Pathogen Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: zdsys@vip.sina.com.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Jin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology*; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D060885:Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D009858:Oncogenic Viruses / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D057089:Pathology, Molecular / Q000379:methods*; D015995:Prevalence; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000379:methods*; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology
keywords: Breast cancer; Epstein–Barr virus; Human papillomavirus; MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry; Merkel cell polyomavirus; Polyomavirus