GENOMIC INSIGHTS INTO THE PLASMA METAVIROME OF BRAZILIAN PATIENTS WITH PROSTATE CANCER

Viral infections have been proposed as indirect factors acting on induction and/or progression of prostate cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the plasma metavirome of patients with prostate cancer. Plasma samples were collected from 49 male patients with primary prostate adenocarcinoma. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) was performed using NextSeq 2000 and the obtained sequence data were analyzed using a bioinformatic pipeline for virus taxonomy. Viral reads showing higher abundance were assembled in contigs and analyzed phylogenetically. Real-time PCR confirmation of the viral agents was also performed. The plasma metavirome of patients with prostate cancer was composed generally of commensal viruses including anelloviruses and the human pegivirus-1 (HPgV-1). Clinically important viruses like Hepatitis C virus (HCV), Cytomegalovirus and Human adenovirus type C were also identified. HPgV-1 phylogeny revealed that it belongs to genotype 2 which is common in Brazil. The HCV phylogenetic analysis showed that it belongs to the subgenotype 1b, which is also frequently detected in Brazil. Our study sheds light on the viral abundance and the importance of the virome in patients with prostatic oncologic diseases. More complex, multiple approach investigations and higher number of patients and from different worldwide locations are necessary to examine the likely causal relationship between viral agents, metavirome and their involvement in prostate cancer.