seroprevalence of herpes simplex virus type 2 and human herpesvirus type 8 among prostate cancer patients compared to cancer-free men

Background: as one of the most prevalent cancers in men, prostate cancer is a condition with multiple causes. viral infections have been identified as one of the major sources of elevated incidence of prostate cancer. objectives: the purpose of this research was to assess the association of the risk of prostate cancer and its aggressiveness with seropositivity of herpes simplex virus 2 (hsv-2) and/or human herpesvirus 8 (hhv-8). methods: totally, 103 men with prostate cancer as cases and 81 healthy individuals as controls were included in this case-control analysis and provided a serum sample. the specific igg antibodies against hsv-2 and hhv-8 were screened by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa). to determine the association between hsv-2, hhv-8, prostate-specific antigen (psa) level, and demographic variables with incidence of prostate cancer, univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were applied. results: the results of the univariate logistic regression model showed a statistically significant association between hsv-2 and hhv-8 seropositivity, psa level, age, and smoking with prostate cancer incidence (p ≤ 0.20). the multivariate logistic regression model results after adjusting for the potential confounding variables showed a significant statistical association between the mean of psa level [adjusted odds ratio (or): 3.44; 95% ci: 2.15 - 5.51; p < 0.001) and incidence of prostate cancer. moreover, the results of univariate and multivariate logistic regression model showed a significant statistical association between age [adjusted or: 0.88; 95% confidence interval (ci): 0.81 - 0.95; p = 0.001] and hsv-2 and also significant statistical association was found between psa (adjusted or: 1.02; 95% ci: 1.005 - 1.03; p = 0.006) and hhv-8. conclusions: although the seroprevalence of hsv-2 and hhv-8 was higher in patients with prostate cancer than in the control group, it cannot be concluded that there is a significant association between the seropositivity of these viruses and prostate cancer incidence. however, the findings showed a significant statistical association between age and seropositivity of hsv-2 and also a significant statistical association between psa levels and seropositivity of hhv-8.