Association of Breast Cancer with Epstein- Bar Virus and Cytomegalovirus Infection

Breast cancer

Abstract

Cancer is one of the most important health problems of the current era and also a leading cause of death among populations. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in women around the world, especially in the Western countries. It accounts for almost one fifth of deaths caused by cancer. In Iraq it has been detected that the number of breast cancer cases are steadily rising since the 1991 war according to the Ministry of health/Iraqi cancer registry of 2014. Breast cancer was most frequent cancer among women and accounts for approximately one-third of the registered female cancers, with sharp increase in incidence of this tumor in young age group. The 2018 cancer registry confirmed the increase in cancer incidence including breast cancer. In Arab countries including Iraq, breast cancer presented in earlier age than in Western countries. Thus early diagnosis of breast cancer may influence outcomes of treatment. In a recent study in Iraq, age of breast cancer diagnosis is two decades earlier than in Western countries. In conclusion, CMV and EBV infections may play a role in breast cancer development as they have ability for induction of latent infection. This latency phenomenon attribute to continuous exposure of host cells to viral particles in low steady-state and subsequent cell transformation.