Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has a worldwide distribution and common infections. The presence of HCMV genome and antigens has been detected in many kinds of human cancers. The proto-oncogene Her2/neu is overexpressed in 25% to 30% of human breast cancers and frequently associated with tumor aggressiveness and worse prognosis. Examination was applied to detect different HCMV antigens and to demonstrate their correlation with Her2/neu overexpression in breast cancer. The present study includes samples from 70 women of 60 breast cancer patients and 10 normal breast tissues. Formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissue blocks were obtained from each woman according to ethical approval. Human cytomegalovirus early antigen expression was detected in 56/60 (93%) of malignant samples while its expression in normal breast tissues 2/10(20%). which was highly significant (P<0.01) while HCMV late antigen was expressed in 37/60(61.7%) of malignant cases and in 7/10(70%) of normal breast tissues, which are statistically non-significant (P>0.05). Her2/neu protein showed negative expression in normal breast tissues and positive or equivocal in malignant breast tissues. A significant positive relationship (r=0.302; P<0.05) revealed between HCMV early antigen expression and Her2/neu protein overexpression and a significant positive relationship (r=0.280; P<0.05) was shown between HCMV late antigen expression and Her2/neu protein overexpression. These findings are the first to demonstrate the positive correlation between HCMV early and late antigens with Her2/neu overexpression in breast cancer. Also, HCMV early antigen was evident in malignant breast tissues raising the possibility that viral infection © 2019, Biochemical and Cellular Archives. All Rights Reserved.
