Co-prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus and high-risk human papillomaviruses in Syrian women with breast cancer.

ABSTRAT We recently performed 2 studies viewing the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) types 16, 18, 31, 33 and 35 in human breast cancer in the Syrian population. Herein, we report that EBV and high-risk HPVs are co-present in breast cancer in Syrian women. Therefore, and based on our previous studies and present data, we reveal that 35 (32%) of 108 cancer samples are positive for both EBV and high-risk HPVs and their co-presence is associated with high grade invasive ductal carcinomas (IDCs) with at least one positive lymph nodes, in comparison with EBV and high-risk HPVs-positive samples, which are low to intermediate grade IDCs, respectively. Future studies are needed to confirm the co-presence and the cooperation effect of these onco-viruses in human breast carcinogenesis and metastasis.This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) and the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec (FRSQ- Réseau du Cancer). The new research lab of Dr. Al Moustafa is supported by the College of Medicine at Qatar University

Epstein-Barr virus and its association with Fascin expression in colorectal cancers in the Syrian population: A tissue microarray study.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common malignancy in both men and women worldwide. Colorectal carcinogenesis is a complex, multistep process involving environmental and lifestyle features as well as sequential genetic changes in addition to bacterial and viral infections. Viral infection has a proven role in the incidence of approximately 20% of human cancers including gastric malignancies. Accordingly, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been recently shown to be present in human gastric cancers, which could play an important role in the initiation and progression of these cancers. Therefore, this work explores the prevalence of EBV in 102 CRC tissues from the Syrian population using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and tissue microarray (TMA) analysis. We found that EBV is present in 37 (36.27%) of CRC samples. Additionally, the expression of LMP1 onco-protein of EBV was found to be correlated with Fascin expression/overexpression in the majority of CRC tissue samples, which are intermediate/high grade invasive carcinomas. Our data indicate that EBV is present in CRC and its presence is associated with more aggressive cancer phenotype. Consequently, future investigations are needed to expose the role of EBV in CRC initiation and progression.This work is supported by the College of Medicine and Qatar University

Human papillomaviruses-related cancers Presence and prevention strategies in the Middle East and North African Regions

WOS: 000342901200014PubMed ID: 25424787Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections are estimated to be the most common sexually transmitted infections worldwide. Meanwhile, it is well established that infection by high-risk HPVs is considered the major cause of cervical cancer since more than 96% of these cancers are positive for high-risk HPVs, especially types 16 and 18. Moreover, during the last 2 decades, numerous studies pointed-out the possible involvement of high-risk HPV in several human carcinomas including head and neck, colorectal and breast cancers. The association between high-risk HPVs and cervical cancer and potentially other human malignancies would necessitate the introduction of vaccines which were generated against the 2 most frequent high-risk HPVs (types 16 and 18) worldwide, including the Middle East (ME) as well as North African countries. The presence of high-risk HPVs in the pathogenesis of human cancers in the ME, which is essential in order to evaluate the importance of vaccination against HPVs, has not been fully investigated yet. In this review, we present an overview of the existing epidemiological evidence regarding the presence of HPV in human cancers in the ME and the potential impact of vaccination against HPV infections and its outcome on human health in this region.Canadian Institutes for Health Research, (CIHR) the Cancer Research Society Inc. of Canada; National Colorectal Cancer Campaign; Fonds de la Recherche en Sante du Quebec (FRSQ-Reseau du Cancer)Fonds de la Recherche en Sante du QuebecThe authors are thankful to Mrs A Kassab and Mr. B Al Moustafa for their reading of the manuscript. The research works from Dr Al Moustafa's laboratory has been supported by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, (CIHR) the Cancer Research Society Inc. of Canada, the National Colorectal Cancer Campaign, and the Fonds de la Recherche en Sante du Quebec (FRSQ-Reseau du Cancer)