Abstract
The Association of Human Cytomegalovirus Infection and Colorectal Cancer: A Clinical Analysis
Brittany Nagel1, Lexi Frankel1, Amalia Ardeljan1,2, Matthew Cardeiro1, Selena Rashid1, Omar Rashid1,2,3,4,5,6
1Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine (NSU MD)
2Michael and Dianne Biennes Comprehensive Cancer Center, Holy Cross Health
3Massachusetts General Hospital
4University of Miami School of Medicine
5Broward Health
6ToplineMD Alliance
Introduction: Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) commonly infects humans and establishes lifelong infection; it causes disease and increased mortality rates in patients with immunosuppression. HCMV gene products are found to be present in multiple human malignancies and target cellular functions involved in tumor development; additionally, a tumor-cytoreductive role of CMV has also been observed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between cytomegalovirus infection and the incidence of colorectal cancer.
Methods: The data was provided by a national database that is compliant with HIPAA. Using ICD-10 and ICD-9 diagnostic codes, the data was filtered to evaluate patients infected with HCMV versus patients never infected with HCMV. Patient data from 2010 to 2019 was assessed. Access to the database was granted by Holy Cross Health, Fort Lauderdale for the purpose of academic research. Standard statistical methods were used.
Outcomes: Between January 2010 and December 2019, the query was analyzed and resulted in 14,235 patients after matching in the infected and control group. The groups were matched by age range, CCI score, and treatment. The incidence of colorectal cancer was 1.159% (165 patients) in the HCMV group and 2.845% (405 patients) in the control group. The difference was statistically significant by a p-value < 2.2 x 10-16 with an odds ratio of 0.37 (95% CI = 0.32-0.42).
Discussion: The study shows a statistically significant correlation between cytomegalovirus infection and a reduced incidence of colorectal cancer. Further evaluation is recommended to assess the potential of cytomegalovirus in reducing colorectal cancer incidence.
