Screening of human bocavirus in surgically excised cancer specimens

Human bocavirus (HBoV) is a prevalent virus worldwide and is mainly associated with respiratory disorders. Recently, it was detected in several disease conditions, including cancers. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third main cause of cancers worldwide. Risk factors that initiate cell transformation include nutritional, hereditary and infectious causes. The aim of the current study was to screen for the presence of HBoV in solid tumors of colorectal cancer and to determine the genotypes of the detected strains. Surgically excised and paraffin-embedded colorectal cancer tissue specimens from 101 male and female patients with and without metastasis were collected over the last four years. Pathological analysis and tumor stages were determined. The presence of HBoV was screened by polymerase chain reaction, and the genotype of the detected HBoV was determined by direct gene sequencing. Most of the examined specimens were adenocarcinoma with mucinous activity in many of them. Twenty-four out of 101 (23.8 %) CRC tissue specimens were found to contain HBoV-1. Low sequence diversity was recorded in the detected strains. The virus was detected in both male and female patients with an age range of 30-75 years. It is proposed that HBoV-1 could play a potential role in the induction of CRC.