Detection of Epstein–Barr Virus in Astrocytoma Grade 2 from a Group of Iraqi Patients

Background: Astrocytomas are among the most frequent brain tumors affecting both children and young adults. Objective: To analyze brain tissues with astrocytomas grades II obtained from a group of Iraqi patients for the rate of DNA detection by PCR of oncogenic Epstein- Barr virus. Materials and Methods: (75) brain tissue specimens have been enrolled from patients, which were related to patients; among them 50 patients, aged 20 to 77 years, ( 58 % males and 42% were females) had operations in neurosurgical theatres of Ghazi Al- Hariri Teaching Hospital at The Medical City Complex for astrocytoma (grade 2) and also a number of (25) patients has enrolled, aged 21 to 70 years, (56 % males and 44% were females ), whom brain tissues have histopathological examination shown neither in line of benign brain tumors nor brain cancers, and were including as the control group of the present research work. The current method was performed by using the technique of polymerase chain reaction that was done to amplify and localize of the examined DNA sequence of EBV. Results: 28% (14 out of 50) of the examined brain tissues from astrocytomas grade 2 cases were positive for EBV genome detection. The most infected brain tumor tissues with EBV- DNA are related to the age stratum (20-40 years), which accounted for 14 %, while the age strata of (41-60 years) and (61- 80 years) accounted for 12% and 2 %, respectively. The male patients accounted for 71.4 % while females accounted for 28.6 %, while positive EBV-PCR detection result in brain tissues from control patients without tumors was found in 8% of the examined tissues. Conclusion: high rate of EBV detection in this percentage of the studied astrocytoma grade 2 tissue samples can possibly considered playing in the induction of these brain tumors.