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Updated: May 27, 2026

Isolation and Quantification of Epstein-Barr Virus from the P3HR1 Cell Line
Published on: September 28, 2022
Joint effects of Epstein-Barr virus and polymorphisms in interleukin-10 and interferon-γ on breast cancer risk
Jian-Rong He1, Li-Juan Chen, Yi Su
1The School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. renzef@mail.sysu.edu.cn
Background:
The relationship between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and breast cancer (BC) is controversial. Interleukin-10 (IL-10) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) are believed to play a critical role in the host's responses to EBV infection, and their genetic variations may modify the association of EBV with BC risk.
Methods:
We examined serum levels of EBV viral capsid antigen (VCA) immunoglobulin A (IgA) and nuclear antigen-1 (EBNA-1) IgA along with the polymorphisms of IL-10 rs1800871 and IFN-γ rs2069705 in 354 incident BC cases and 504 age-matched controls. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using multivariate logistic regression.
Results:
VCA IgA and EBNA-1 IgA levels were positively associated with BC risk. IL-10 rs1800871 (TC/CC) was associated with a reduced BC risk (OR, 0.74 [95% CI, 0.55-1.00]) but had no interaction with EBV infection on BC risk. IFN-γ rs2069705 was not directly associated with BC risk but interacted with EBNA-1 IgA on BC risk. Among women with the CC genotype, EBNA-1 IgA seropositivity significantly increased the risk of BC compared to EBNA-1 IgA seronegativity (OR, 5.14 [95% CI, 1.76-14.98]).
Conclusions:
These results suggest that EBV may contribute to the risk of BC and that this contribution may be modified by genetic variations in IFN-γ.
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