Staining pattern and clinicopathological features of Epstein-Barr Virus, Latent Membrane protein 1 expression in patients with Gastric carcinoma in Lake zone, Tanzania

Background Infectious agents such as the Epstein-Barr virus are responsible for 10% of gastric carcinomas worldwide. The lake zone in Tanzania lies in an Epstein-Barr virus-endemic (EBV) region, and the contribution of EBV-related gastric cancers has not yet been established. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the prevalence and clinicopathological features of EBV-related gastric carcinoma at Bugando Medical Center. Methods This was a laboratory-based, retrospective cross-sectional study conducted at Bugando Medical Center. Latent membrane protein-1, stained on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue blocks, to determine the prevalence and staining pattern of EBV-associated Gastric cancers. Data was entered and cleaned in Excel and then analyzed using STATA version 15. The chi-square tests were used to assess associations, with logistic regression used to control confounders, at a significance level of p < 0.05. Results A total of 119 cases were evaluated, with 70 (58.8%) males and 49 (41.2%) females. The prevalence of LMP-1 overexpression was N(40.3%). LMP-1 positive cases were associated with increased age above 60years, and diffuse histological type. Patients aged 60 years and above had an OR = 0.17 ( p = 0.018) of testing LMP-1 positive, and it was statistically significant. Diffuse carcinoma type was significantly associated with increased odds of LMP-1 positivity (OR = 31.39, p = 0.002). The expression pattern was predominantly nuclear in N (77.1%), while N (22.9%) were nuclear and cytoplasmic. Conclusions Gastric carcinoma in our setting showed a high level of LMP-1 overexpression. These findings suggest that all patients with advanced age and diffuse histological type should be screened for LMP-1 overexpression as a predictive marker for targeted therapy and favorable prognostication.