Epstein-Barr Virus Linked To Invasive Breast Cancer And Lymphoma.

2001 MAR 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School have found a molecular link between aggressive breast and lymphatic cancers and the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes infectious mononucleosis.

In a paper published in the March 2001 issue of Nature Medicine, U-M scientists show how the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) alters the function of a cellular protein that normally suppresses the movement of malignant cells. When this natural brake on cell migration is disabled by the virus, cancerous breast and lymphatic cells are free to metastasize or spread.

"This is the first evidence of a human virus associated with the development of cancerous tumors targeting a cellular protein to promote the migration of malignant cells," says Erle S. Robertson, PhD, who directed the study. Robertson is an assistant professor of microbiology and immunology in the U-M Medical School and a researcher in the U-M's Comprehensive Cancer Center.

"The Epstein-Barr virus is associated with many human cancers - including Burkitt's lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, Hodgkin's disease, and invasive breast cancer," Robertson says.

The virus is very common. More than 90% of adults show signs of previous viral infection. Adolescents infected with the acute phase of the virus can develop infectious mononucleosis, but usually the body's natural immune response forces the virus to revert to its latent phase, where it hides inside the nucleus of immune cells called lymphocytes without producing any symptoms.

Even though the virus is endemic in humans, Robertson emphasizes that most cells infected by the virus may never become malignant. Additional genetic factors are required to trigger development of cancer. Should cancer develop, however, Robertson says the risk of metastasis may be ...