• Investigating the Prevalence of Human Cytomegalovirus in Colorectal Cancer Tissue via Real-Time PCR
  • Ghazaleh Malekizadeh,1 Mahdiye Shirmohammad,2 Behnoush Ashoubi,3 Kaveh Sadeghi,4,*
    1. Department of Molecular Diagnostic NOOR Laboratory, Iran, Tehran
    2. Department of Molecular Diagnostic NOOR Laboratory, Iran, Tehran
    3. Department of Molecular Diagnostic NOOR Laboratory, Iran, Tehran
    4. Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences


  • Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common type of cancer worldwide, accounting for approximately half a million cases per year . A person's lifetime risk of developing colon cancer is about 4%, but several factors can increase this probability. The potential connection between Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) and colorectal cancer (CRC) has been extensively investigated, although its exact role remains uncertain and is still a subject of speculation.
  • Methods: In this research, conducted between September 1, 2023, and September 17, 2024, we examined 664 patients who requested CMV testing and assessment of CMV viral load. Our focus was specifically on patients who provided tissue samples, including intestinal and colon biopsies, as well as paraffin-embedded block samples. The methodology involved an initial extraction of DNA from the samples, followed by analysis of the extracted product using quantitative PCR (q- PCR).
  • Results: Through PCR analysis, we determined that roughly 12% of the patients evaluated in our study (82 out of 664) provided the anticipated test samples. Among these individuals, approximately 29% (24 out of 82) returned positive results. The p-value for the proportion of positive results among the acute patients tested is significantly low, suggesting that the observed proportion of positive results (29%) is significantly higher than the expected proportion (12%). We ultimately analyzed the data, which revealed an equal number of male and female patients, suggesting that gender does not influence the prevalence of this disease (The average age of these patients was 24 years old).
  • Conclusion: The findings from our study on the association of Human Cytomegalovirus with colorectal cancer reveal a noteworthy prevalence of viral presence in tumor tissues. Out of 664 patients, 12% provided adequate samples for analysis, highlighting the challenges in sample collection in this patient population. Among these samples, a striking 29% tested positive for HCMV, which is significantly higher than the anticipated proportion of 12%. This elevated prevalence suggests a potential role of HCMV in colorectal carcinogenesis, warranting further investigation. The low p-value associated with the positive results among acute patients reinforces the significance of our findings, indicating that HCMV may be more prevalent in colorectal cancer tissues than previously understood. These results underscore the need for additional research to elucidate the mechanisms by which HCMV may contribute to tumor development and progression, potentially leading to novel therapeutic strategies targeting viral infection in colorectal cancer patients.
  • Keywords: Human cytomegalovirus, colorectal cancer, quantitative Real Time PCR