Is EBV Associated with Breast Cancer in Specific Geographic Locations?
Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is a virus that establishes a life-long infection in people, and infection with EBV is nearly ubiquitous by adulthood. EBV was identified from biopsy material from a child with Burkitt’s lymphoma (BL) in sub-Saharan Africa. EBV has a well-characterised role in the developmen...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Cancers |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/4/819 |
| _version_ | 1797396439333076992 |
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| author | Alison J. Sinclair Manal H. Moalwi Thomas Amoaten |
| author_facet | Alison J. Sinclair Manal H. Moalwi Thomas Amoaten |
| author_sort | Alison J. Sinclair |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is a virus that establishes a life-long infection in people, and infection with EBV is nearly ubiquitous by adulthood. EBV was identified from biopsy material from a child with Burkitt’s lymphoma (BL) in sub-Saharan Africa. EBV has a well-characterised role in the development of some cancers, notably, Burkitt’s lymphoma (BL), Hodgkin’s disease (HD), gastric carcinoma (GC), and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Links have also been made between EBV and breast cancer (BC), but these have been controversial. For all EBV-associated cancers, the ubiquitous nature of infection with EBV, contrasted with the relatively rare development of cancer, highlights a problem of determining whether EBV is an aetiological agent of cancer. In addition, the geographic distributions of some EBV-associated cancers point to contributions from additional co-factors. Recent meta-analyses of the incidence of EBV within BC biopsies has revealed that the diversity in the conclusions remain, however, they also show more of an association between EBV and BC biopsies in some study locations. Here, we review the evidence linking EBV with BC, and conclude that the evidence for the presence of EBV in BC biopsies is concentrated in specific geographic regions but is currently insufficient to provide a causal link. We pose some questions that could help to resolve the question of whether EBV contributes to BC and probe the contribution EBV might make to the aetiology of BC. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:50:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-35f0737bfd5e4799add2ff555d56ac24 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6694 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:50:21Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cancers |
| spelling | doaj.art-35f0737bfd5e4799add2ff555d56ac242023-12-11T17:12:45ZengMDPI AGCancers2072-66942021-02-0113481910.3390/cancers13040819Is EBV Associated with Breast Cancer in Specific Geographic Locations?Alison J. Sinclair0Manal H. Moalwi1Thomas Amoaten2School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9 QG, UKSchool of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9 QG, UKSchool of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9 QG, UKEpstein–Barr virus (EBV) is a virus that establishes a life-long infection in people, and infection with EBV is nearly ubiquitous by adulthood. EBV was identified from biopsy material from a child with Burkitt’s lymphoma (BL) in sub-Saharan Africa. EBV has a well-characterised role in the development of some cancers, notably, Burkitt’s lymphoma (BL), Hodgkin’s disease (HD), gastric carcinoma (GC), and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Links have also been made between EBV and breast cancer (BC), but these have been controversial. For all EBV-associated cancers, the ubiquitous nature of infection with EBV, contrasted with the relatively rare development of cancer, highlights a problem of determining whether EBV is an aetiological agent of cancer. In addition, the geographic distributions of some EBV-associated cancers point to contributions from additional co-factors. Recent meta-analyses of the incidence of EBV within BC biopsies has revealed that the diversity in the conclusions remain, however, they also show more of an association between EBV and BC biopsies in some study locations. Here, we review the evidence linking EBV with BC, and conclude that the evidence for the presence of EBV in BC biopsies is concentrated in specific geographic regions but is currently insufficient to provide a causal link. We pose some questions that could help to resolve the question of whether EBV contributes to BC and probe the contribution EBV might make to the aetiology of BC.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/4/819Epstein–Barr virusbreast cancergastric cancernasopharyngeal cancerBurkitt’s lymphomageographic incidence |
| spellingShingle | Alison J. Sinclair Manal H. Moalwi Thomas Amoaten Is EBV Associated with Breast Cancer in Specific Geographic Locations? Cancers Epstein–Barr virus breast cancer gastric cancer nasopharyngeal cancer Burkitt’s lymphoma geographic incidence |
| title | Is EBV Associated with Breast Cancer in Specific Geographic Locations? |
| title_full | Is EBV Associated with Breast Cancer in Specific Geographic Locations? |
| title_fullStr | Is EBV Associated with Breast Cancer in Specific Geographic Locations? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is EBV Associated with Breast Cancer in Specific Geographic Locations? |
| title_short | Is EBV Associated with Breast Cancer in Specific Geographic Locations? |
| title_sort | is ebv associated with breast cancer in specific geographic locations |
| topic | Epstein–Barr virus breast cancer gastric cancer nasopharyngeal cancer Burkitt’s lymphoma geographic incidence |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/4/819 |
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