Infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a virus of the family of herpes, may increase a woman’s risk of aggressive breast cancer, according to the results of a study published in the medical journal EBioMedicine. This finding may have important implications for breast cancer screening and prevention. The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the most common type of the herpes virus. More than 90% of the world’s population carry this virus, but most people do not display any symptoms of the infection.
The team from the Hematology-Oncology Department at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Harvard Medical School in the United States performed a study with breast cells exposed to the virus. They observed that the virusherpes binds to the CD21 receptor on normal breast cells, leading to infection. Then the disease causes very rapid cell division. Second, the researchers implanted these cells in mice that developed a breast cancer estrogen-receptor-negative (an aggressive form of the disease).
Herpes virus infection is believed to genetically modify cells
Research indicates that a contribution fromherpes development of breast cancer is plausible, due to a mechanism during infection in which cells become malignant. “We believe that if a young woman develops herpes during her teenage years or later, her breast cells will be exposed to the virus and may become infected. While for most individuals there will be no long-term consequences. In the long term, for some the infection can leave genetic scars and modify the metabolism of these cells “, explained Gerburg Wulf, researcher in the division of hematology and oncology. “These are subtle changes, they can, decades later, facilitate the formation of breast cancer. “
“The results also make the case for a vaccine against herpes which could protect children against infection and later malignant tumors associated with this pathology”, concludes the researcher.
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