Viral microbiome of prostate tissue in benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer

Aim. To evaluate the incidence of various viruses in prostate tissue in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa).

Materials and methods. The study included 145 patients who were operated on for BPH (n = 79) or PCa (n = 66) in the period between 2019 and 2023. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed in the obtained samples of surgical material to determine the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV), herpes simplex viruses type 1 and 2, cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), herpes virus type 6 (HHV-6).

Results. Mean age of patients was 68.2 years. Viruses in prostate tissue were found in 40.7 % of patients in the total cohort: in 35.4 % of patients with BPH and in 47.0 % of patients with PCa (p = 0.159). The most common virus detected in the total cohort of patients was EBV which was found in 18.6 % of patients: in 16.5 % of patients with BPH and in 21.2 % of patients with PCa (p = 0.464). The second most common was HHV-6 (9.0 % of patients of the total cohort: 19.7 % of patients with PCa and in 0 % with BPH, p <0.001), and the third was CMV (7.6 % of patients: 2.5 % of patients with BPH and 13.6 % of patients with PCa, p = 0.027). When combining all HPV types, the prevalence of HPV was 10.3 %, but individual subtypes were found in isolated cases and their incidence in the total cohort did not exceed 2.1 %. The incidence of HPV (all types) was 16.5 % in patients with BPH and 3.0 % in patients with PCa (p = 0.018).

Conclusion. In patients with prostate diseases, almost half of the cases have viral infection localized in the prostate tissue. CMV and HHV-6 are the most common in patients with PCa. The latter was not found in patients with BPH. EBV is equally represented among patients with BPH and PCa.

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