Risk factor for breast cancer development under exposure to bovine leukemia virus in Colombian women: A case-control study

PLoS One. 2021 Sep 21;16(9):e0257492. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257492. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Viruses have been implicated in cancer development in both humans and animals. The role of viruses in cancer is typically to initiate cellular transformation through cellular DNA damage, although specific mechanisms remain unknown. Silent and long-term viral infections need to be present, in order to initiate cancer disease. In efforts to establish a causative role of viruses, first is needed to demonstrate the strength and consistency of associations in different populations. The aim of this study was to determine the association of bovine leukemia virus (BLV), a causative agent of leukemia in cattle, with breast cancer and its biomarkers used as prognosis of the severity of the disease (Ki67, HER2, hormonal receptors) in Colombian women. An unmatched, observational case-control study was conducted among women undergoing breast surgery between 2016-2018. Malignant samples (n = 75) were considered as cases and benign samples (n = 83) as controls. Nested-liquid PCR, in-situ PCR and immunohistochemistry were used for viral detection in blood and breast tissues. For the risk assessment, only BLV positive samples from breast tissues were included in the analysis. BLV was higher in cases group (61.3%) compared with controls (48.2%), with a statistically significant association between the virus and breast cancer in the unconditional logistic regression (adjusted-OR = 2.450,95%CI:1.088-5.517, p = 0.031). In this study, BLV was found in both blood and breast tissues of participants and an association between breast cancer and the virus was confirmed in Colombia, as an intermediate risk factor.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Area Under Curve
  • Breast / pathology
  • Breast / virology
  • Breast Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Breast Neoplasms / virology
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Colombia
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Leukemia Virus, Bovine / genetics
  • Leukemia Virus, Bovine / isolation & purification*
  • Logistic Models
  • Middle Aged
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Prognosis
  • RNA, Viral / analysis
  • RNA, Viral / blood
  • RNA, Viral / metabolism
  • ROC Curve
  • Risk Factors
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • RNA, Viral

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the DEPARTMENTO ADMINISTRATIVO DE CIENCIA, TECNOLOGÍA E INNOVACIÓN (COLCIENCIAS - https://minciencias.gov.co/convocatorias), from Colombia, grant number 657/2014 in national calls for projects. Data analysis and statistical support was funded by HOSPITAL UNIVERSITARIO MAYOR MÉDERI – Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia (https://www.mederi.com.co/hospital-universitario/investigacion. Grant for national doctorate programs was awarded to NOG by COLCIENCIAS (national call 647/2014) for the accomplishment of her PhD in Biological and Biomedical Sciences at Universidad del Rosario and grant by FULBRIGHT COLOMBIA (2017 - https://www.fulbright.edu.co/estudiante-doctoral-colombiano/) was also awarded to NOG as a visiting student researcher for partially fulfilling experiments (IN-PCR and IHC techniques) at UC Berkeley in the US. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.