Prospective investigation of herpesvirus infection and risk of glioma. Issue 2 (7th March 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Coghill, Anna E.; Kim, Youngchul; Hodge, James M.; Bender, Noemi; Smith‐Warner, Stephanie A.; Teras, Lauren R.; Grimsrud, Tom K.; Waterboer, Tim; Egan, Kathleen M.
• Is Part Of: International journal of cancer. Volume 151:Issue 2(2022)
• Page Start: 222
• Page End: 228
• Publication Date: 2022-03-07
• Subjects: CMV -- EBV -- glioblastoma -- glioma risk -- human herpesviruses; Cancer -- Periodicals; Cancer -- Prevention -- Periodicals; 616.994
• DOI: 10.1002/ijc.33987
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0020-7136

Abstract

Abstract: Glioma is an aggressive neoplasm of the brain with poorly understood etiology. A limited number of pathogens have been examined as glioma risk factors, but data from prospective studies with infection status determined before disease are lacking. Herpesviruses comprise a large family of DNA viruses that infect humans and are linked to a range of chronic diseases. We conducted a prospective evaluation of the association between antibody to six human herpesviruses and glioma risk in the Janus Serum Bank (Janus) and the Cancer Prevention Study‐II (CPS‐II). In Janus and CPS‐II, the risk for glioma was not related to seroprevalence of herpes simplex virus‐1, varicella zoster virus, or human herpes viruses 6A or 6B. In Janus, seropositivity to either the Epstein Barr virus (EBV) EA[D] or VCAp18 antigen was associated with a lower risk of glioma (ORs: 0.55 [95% CI 0.32‐0.94] and 0.57 [95% CI 0.38‐0.85]). This inverse association was consistent by histologic subtype and was observed for gliomas diagnosed up to two decades following antibody measurement. In Janus, seropositivity to at least one of three examined cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigens (pp150, pp52, pp28) was associated with an increased risk of nonglioblastoma (OR: 2.08 [95% CI 1.07‐4.03]). This association was limited to tumors diagnosed within 12 years of antibody measurement. In summary, we report evidence of an inverse association between exposure to EBV and glioma. We further report that CMV exposure may be related to a higher likelihood of the nonglioblastoma subtype. Abstract : What's new? Although glioma is an aggressive cancer, little is known about environmental risk factors that influence its development and that could be leveraged for prevention or treatment. Such risk factors potentially include the herpesviruses cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV). Here, associations between antibodies against herpesviruses and glioma were investigated in two cohorts, including the Janus Serum Bank. In the Janus cohort, seropositivity to the EBV early antigen and viral capsid antigen were associated with reduced glioma risk, while seropositivity to CMV was associated with increased risk of the nonglioblastoma subtype. The findings offer insight into new opportunities for glioma prevention and treatment.