title: Prevalence and characteristics of Epstein-Barr virus-associated gastric cancer in Iran.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Gastric cancer (GC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and is the most frequent cancer in Iran. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been shown to be associated with gastric cancer. The present study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) associated gastric cancer among Iranian patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety formalin fixed paraffin-embedded cases of gastric cancer were studied. The specimens were investigated for the presence of the EBV genome by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of ninety specimens, EBV was detected in six cases (6.66%). The mean age for patients EBV-positive gastric carcinomas was 72.1 years, whereas the mean age for the entire group was 65.7 years. Four out of 64 (6.25%) male patients and 2 out of 26 (7.69%) female cases were positive for EBV. According to anatomic location, EBV was detected in 4 out of 39 (10.25% ) gastric cancer were located in cardia and 2 out of 26 (7.69%) gastric cancer were located in middle/corpus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study shows that the frequency of EBV-associated gastric carcinoma in Iran is  low. Differences of EBV-associated gastric carcinoma incidence in different countries may reflect the epidemiologic factors and dietary habits. Further analysis of clinical pathology features of EBV-associated gastric carcinoma using a larger number of cases would give invaluable insights into its etiology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. saberfar@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Ebrahim
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Faghihloo
authors.affiliation: Research Center of Virus and Vaccine, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Saremi
authors.affiliation: Research Center of Virus and Vaccine, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mahabadi
authors.affiliation: Pathology ward of Mahdieh hospital, Shahid Beheshti Medical Science University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akbari
authors.affiliation: Research Center of Virus and Vaccine, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Esmail
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Saberfar
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*