Molecular Investigation of Human Cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus in Glioblastoma Brain Tumor: A Case-Control Study in Iran

Authors
Hadi Ghaffari 1
Ahmad Tavakoli 2
Mohammad Faranoush 3
Ali Naderi 4
Seyed Jalal Kiani 5
Alireza Sadeghipour 6
Davod Javanmard 7
Mohammad Farahmand 8
Saied Ghorbani 5
Farnoush Sedaghati 9
Seyed Hamidreza Monavari 5
1 1Department of Bacteriology and Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
2 Research Center of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3 Pediatric Growth and Development Research Center, Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
4 Mahak Pediatric Cancer Treatment and Research Center, Tehran, Iran
5 Department of Medical Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
6 Department of Pathology, Hazrat-e-Rasoul Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
7 Infectious Diseases Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
8 Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
9 Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
10.52547/ibj.25.6.426
Abstract
Background: Glioblastoma multiforme is the most invasive and lethal form of brain cancer with unclear etiology. Our study aimed to investigate the molecular prevalence of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 42 FFPE brain tumor samples from GBM patients and 42 brain autopsies from subjects without neurological disorders. The presence of EBV and HCMV DNA was determined, using PCR and nested-PCR assays, respectively. Results: HCMV DNA was detected in 3 out of 42 (7.1%) of GBM samples and was absent from the control group (p = 0.07). Importantly, EBV DNA was detected in 9 out of 42 (21.4%) brain tissue specimens of GBM subjects, but again in none of the control group (p = 0.001). Conclusion: Our findings indicate that infection with EBV is associated with GBM.
Keywords
Brain tumor
Epstein-Barr virus
Glioblastoma
Human cytomegalovirus