Due to copyright issues, an electronic copy of the thesis must be ordered from the faculty. For the faculty to have time to process the order, the order must be received by the faculty at the latest 2 days before the public defence. Orders received later than 2 days before the defence will not be processed. After the public defence, please address any inquiries regarding the thesis to the candidate.
Trial Lecture – time and place
See Trial Lecture.
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Associate Professor Egil Blix, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway,
- Second opponent: Researcher Mari Kaarbø, Oslo University Hospital, Norway
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Professor Odd Terje Brustugun, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Associate Professor Stephan Andreas Brackmann, University of Oslo
Principal Supervisor
Professor Jürgen Geisler, University of Oslo
Summary
The association between human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infections and breast cancer are well documented. Several studies identify the virus as a potential contributor to more aggressive forms of breast cancer.
In this thesis, the potential role of HCMV in breast cancer pathogenesis is further investigated, with the hypothesis that HCMV may be of clinical value in breast cancer treatment.
We assessed human breast cancer tissue for HCMV by immunohistochemical staining, RNA and DNA sequencing. Clinical data was coupled to all patient samples, allowing for large scale analyses of expression profiles in tumour tissue and clinical outcome data.
We developed a novel automated diagnostic immunohistochemical staining protocol for detection of HCMV protein in breast cancer tissue, improving the efficacy, reproducibility and standardization of the immunohistochemical staining process.
HCMV was found in the majority of breast cancer tumours. Patients with high viral load in their tumours had shorter overall survival.
A positive correlation between HCMV and inflammatory biomarkers in breast cancerous tissue was observed. Also, HCMV induced inflammatory transcript levels was observed in breast cancer cells in vitro, suggesting that HCMV favors pro-tumoral environment and may contribute to potential tumor growth.
The findings in this thesis add to existing data with supporting evidence that HCMV is a potential onco-virus. We also support the idea of evaluating anti-viral drug treatment in selected breast cancer patients.
Additional information
Contact the research support staff.