The Relationship Between EBV Virus and Breast Cancer in Khuzestan Province of Iran

Introduction: Many study results have suggested that infection by the Epstein-Barr virus is a possible agent of human breast cancer. But the role of Epstein-Barr virus in breast cancer is still controversial. Materials and Methods: Paraffin embedded formalin fixed specimens were prepared from 40 breast and 40 healthy tissues in Khuzestan province of Iran. After DNA extraction, the purity of all DNA samples was evaluated by amplification of constitutive beta-actin gene. Then the presence of EBV gene in DNA extraction with appropriate purity was assessed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using virus specific primers. Results: only 2 out 39 cases of tumor (5.12%) and none of the 37 healthy samples were positive for the presence of Epstein-Barr virus. Statistically, Cramer’s index for EBV infection was 0.160 in cancer samples. Conclusions: Our results indicated that there is no significant relationship between breast cancer and Epstein-Barr virus. Further investigation on more patients needed to determine the exact relationship between EBV and breast cancer in this province