Cancers, Vol. 11, Pages 1842: A Review of the Potential Role of Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) Infections in Breast Cancer Carcinogenesis and Abnormal Immunity

Cancers, Vol. 11, Pages 1842: A Review of the Potential Role of Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) Infections in Breast Cancer Carcinogenesis and Abnormal Immunity Cancers doi: 10.3390/cancers11121842 Authors: Jürgen Geisler Joel Touma Afsar Rahbar Cecilia Söderberg-Nauclér Katja Vetvik Previously recognized classical human onco-viruses can regulate complex neoplastic events, and are estimated to play a role during carcinogenesis in 15–20% of cancer cases. Although the DNA and gene products of several viruses have been found in breast tumors, none of the classical onco-viruses have definitely been linked to the initiation of breast cancer. However, recent evidence shows that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) gene products are found in >90% of tumors and metastases of breast cancers, and their increased expression can be correlated to a more aggressive breast cancer phenotype. Supporting the active role of HCMV in breast cancer, a specific HCMV strain, HCMV-DB, was recently shown to exert oncogenic transformational activity in breast epithelial cells in vitro, and to give rise to fast-growing, triple-negative breast tumors when injected into immune deficient mice. The same observation holds true for clinical studies implying increased HCMV protein expression in triple negative breast cancer biopsies. In addition to functionally being able to hijack tumor-promoting cellular events, HCMV is known to exhibit a wide range of immunosuppressive effec...
Source: Cancers - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Review Source Type: research