Prevalence of Human Cytomegalovirus Infection in Iranian Prostate Cancer Patients

Background and Aim: Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has the potential for oncogenicity and has been associated with many malignancies, including prostate cancer. This study aimed to investigate the genomic prevalence of HCMV in prostate cancer tumors. Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 31 patients with prostate cancer were enrolled along with 31 patients with benign prostate cancer as the control group. The presence of the HCMV genome was assessed using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The nested-PCR test was also used to detect the UL55 virus gene. Purified PCR products were sequenced using the Sanger method by a commercial service provider (Pishgam Co.), and the results were analized using Chromase software. Results: The overall mean (±SD) prostate-specific antigen (PSA) value was 9 (±7.8) ng/Ml in patients with different stages of prostate cancer, and 9 (±3) ng/Ml in the control group (P=0.09). The prevalence of HCMV DNA was 19.3% (n=6) in the case group, and 6.5% (n=2) in the control group (P=0.14). The highest prevalence was observed in stage IIA (33.3%), followed by stages III (25%), and IIB (12.5%) (P=0.016). There were close phylogenetic relationships between Iranian HCMV isolates and several reference genotypes – the closest genetic relationship was observed with the KR 534207 genotype. Conclusion: The prevalence of HCMV in the prostate cancer group was markedly higher than that of the control group, although this difference was not significant. However, the higher prevalence of HCMV in prostate cancer patients compared to the control group is indicative of the possible role of HCMV in the development of prostate cancer.