Molecular Detection of Epstein Barr Virus in Women with Breast Cancer in the West Algeria

Breast cancer represents the most common malignant tumor afflicting women. This pathological condition remains the leading cause of death which constitutes an affliction that deserves considerable attention. As a result, the potential implication of viruses in its pathogenesis remains worth a hypothesis. The potential role of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in its pathogenesis is still a subject of continued discussion and investigations. The aim of this study is to evaluate a possible association between EBVs in breast cancers in western Algeria, and to determine the clinicopathological characteristics in order to specify the clinicopathological profile of tumors associated with this virus. We have searched the presence of EBV in 60 human breast cancer samples thanks to different techniques such as: PCR, in situ hybridization of EBER sequences and immunohistochemistry for latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1). The results obtained from this study showed the presence of this virus in only 16 cases or 26.6%. While the remaining 44 samples with a percentage of 73.3% showed a negative value. This may be due to sensitivity in the different techniques used and also what prompts us to suggest resuming the study using much more sensitive techniques such as real-time PCR. Our study indicates the presence of EBV DNA in a significant proportion of breast cancer in western Algeria. Further studies are required to clarify the role of this virus in breast carcinogenesis.