The co-presence of high-risk human papillomaviruses and Epstein-Barr virus is linked with tumor grade and stage in Qatari women with breast cancer.

High-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV) can be present and cooperate with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) to promote the onset and/or progression of various cancers including cervical, breast, head and neck as well as colorectal. In this investigation, we explored the co-prevalence of high-risk HPV and EBV in 74 breast cancer tissues from Qatari women using polymerase chain reaction. We found that high-risk HPV and EBV are present in 48/74 (65%) and 36/74 (49%) of the cases, respectively. While we noted that the presence of HPV presence is associated with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) ( = .008), however, the presence of EBV did not correlate with any breast cancer subgroup. Moreover, our data revealed that high-risk HPV and EBV are co-present in 35/74 (47%) of the samples and their co-presence is significantly associated with tumor grade ( = .04) and tumor stage ( = .04). These data indicate that HPV and EBV are commonly co-present in breast cancer and their association could be linked with a more aggressive tumor phenotype. Thus, further investigations are essential to understand the underlying mechanisms of HPV and EBV cooperation in breast carcinogenesis.grants from Qatar University [QUCG-CMED-2018/2019-3, QUHI-CMED-19/20-1 and QUCG-CMED-20/21-

Incidence of HPVs, EBV and MMTV-like Virus in Breast Cancer in Qatar.

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and mouse mammary tumor virus-like virus (MMTV-like virus) can be present and contribute to breast cancer development and progression. However, the role of these oncoviruses and their crosstalk in breast cancer is still unclear. We explored the co-presence of high-risk HPVs, EBV, and MMTV-like virus in 74 breast cancer samples from Qatar using PCR. We found the presence of HPV and EBV in 65% and 49% of our cancer samples cohort; 47% of the samples are positive for both oncoviruses. The MMTV-like virus alone was detected in 15% of the samples with no significant association with clinicopathological features. The three oncoviruses were co-present in 14% of the cases; No significant association was noted between the co-presence of these viruses and the clinicopathological features. Despite the presence of the oncoviruses, additional studies are necessary to understand their interactions in human breast carcinogenesis.The current study was supported by the grants from Qatar University: QUCP-CMED-2021-1 and QUCP-CMED-22/23-52