Env Gene Expression in Women with Breast Cancer in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari and Isfahan Provinces, Iran

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies in women worldwide. Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN) data for 2019 show that about two million women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Human endogenous retroviruses (HERV) can be involved in the development of various types of cancer. This study aimed to investigate the expression of the Env gene in the tissues of patients with breast cancer. Methods: The present case-control study was performed on 42 women with breast cancer at the age range of 40-49 years admitted to Alzahra hospital in Isfahan City and Ayatollah Kashani hospital in Shahrekord City, Iran, who underwent surgery from October 2018 to April 2019. Tumor tissues as cases and tumor margins as controls were used for RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis. Env gene expression was assessed by relative quantitation using designed primers and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Statistical analyses including Kruskal–Wallis and Wilcoxon tests were performed using SPSS software. Findings: No significant difference was observed between Env gene expression in cancerous and noncancerous tissues. Furthermore, the Env gene expression did not show a significant relationship with the stage and grade of the tumor. Conclusion: Unlike previous studies, in the present study, no differences were found between the Env gene in tumor state and normal tumor margin tissue. This result may be due to different geographical and racial conditions or due to inherent heterogeneity in tumors. In any case, more research is needed in this area.

Keywords

• breast neoplasms
• real-time polymerase chain reaction
• herv-k
• env