Epstein Barr Virus

Sunflower64

Hi

I was dx with Epstein Barr Virus in 1996 and I have read some things that said it could be linked to IDC.

Just curious if anyone had the virus and what you thought about the connection to breast cancer.

Diane

Anonymous

I've heard it's connection with mono, but not with bc.

Anne

prayrv

here's what the American Cancer Society had to say about it

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Epstein_Barr_Virus_May_Be_Linked_to_Breast_Cancer.asp

This was posted back in 1999 though. 

mamaof3bugs

Wow this caught me off guard.  I was dx with EBV two years ago and was dx at the end of Jan with triple negative IDC...hummm.  I will be asking my new onc about this one!

Sugar77

I've wondered about this myself.  I was diagnosed with Epstein Barr Virus in 2001 at age 36.  I sure wasn't kissing boys in the school yard at that age so no clue how I caught it.  Anyway, I asked a doctor if there was any connection and he said not that he was aware. I will check out the link prayrv provided. 

olivia218

I never knew there could be a connection but I was diagnosed with EBV a few years ago. I did have mono as a young teen (not sure how I got it because I was hiding behind my glasses trying not to get noticed). 

dash

Several years before my Dx, my primary care doc said that my blood tests show an old EBV virus. He said maybe I'd had mono or EBV at one time and just didn't know it. He went on to say, I could never donate blood or be an organ donor because EBV is connected to cancer. He didn't specifically say BC, just cancer. My younger son has had mono and it just makes me crazy with worry when I think about it!

olivia218

Bayyyy,

I had no idea there was such a strong connection.  That is scary. I was not ever told not to be an organ donor or donate blood.  Now that I have also had MRSA I know I can not donate blood.  When I was in the hospital, everyone asked me about my MRSA.

Luah

I'm missing the significance. The articles states, "EBV is a very common virus that infects nine out of 10 people worldwide." Pretty much everyone.  And if half of BC-diseased tissue turns up as having EBV - wouldn't the prevalance of BC be much higher - like 45% of women?

I know there is some very interesting work being done on a virus link to BC (it's a little out of style right now given the focus on genetucs, tumour markers etc.). The date on this is old - I'm wondering if there are any updates.      

Tephi

Hi Luah,

A 2004 study from Texas directly addresses that issue in it's first paragraph in how EBV infects  90% of the world's population but how only a small few get tumors.

 http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/10/3/803.abstract

Here is another article of studies done in Ann Arbor Michigan from 2001  Epstein-Barr virus linked to invasive breast cancer and lymphoma:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2001-02/UoMH-Evlt-2702101.php

I also seem to remember reading EBV is not the cause of the cancer, but is a factor in the aggressive spread of it through lymph nodes. I will look for that article and post it.

My interest is that I am newly diagnosed with her2 invasive breast cancer and I have had many flare-ups of Mono and cold sores during stress in my life. And in fact it is how I found the lump in the first place. It is in a location that regular mammograms missed, but during a bad flare-up of cold sores on my lips and face, I was being awakened by a stabbing pain in what a discovered to be the cancerous lump.

olivia218

All this is tough to understand. I was told I have had EBV but not currently active. I also had MRSA less than a year ago. I have had mono, many years ago and now BC...

soulswithin

I read research for many years about EBV, as I had flare ups of it often. I did come across alot of medical abstract studies stating that virus connected to many cancers, including Hodgkins Lymphoma as well. [my mother had that one]. I also had Melanoma, a few abstracts of that cancer being involved as well. None of this surprises me.

I don't know if the virus claims any weight on whether you will get breast cancer, but more like the virus does a number on your immune system, and we become more vulnerable to certain cancers. Amazing reads, I finally put the research all away, because the stress it caused me by reading the bad news I felt was worse for me, and I needed to go live life. Hav'nt read a page in 9 years since. I also figured most doctors don't know these things, it's far beyond the general medical classroom, which is only covered a few weeks study. The only results you will get by this knowledge is to go to the top researchers in the world.

I did manage ten years of good health by keeping notes of all that would help fight EBV in my body, including getting rid of stress, suppliments, etc. which is just one part of the picture.