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Oncogenic Viruses and Cancer Transmission

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Cancer Associated Viruses

Part of the book series: Current Cancer Research ((CUCR))

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Abstract

One in six cancers in humans has a viral etiology, and viruses are also a major contributor to cancer incidence in some animal species. Therefore, vaccines that control or reduce oncogenic virus infection promise to significantly reduce the overall global cancer burden. Moreover, investigation of the pathogenesis and transmission of cancer-associated viruses has provided profound insights into the molecular biology of cancer more generally. The transmission routes of oncogenic viruses are complex and varied, including horizontal and vertical transmission, and in the case of retroviruses, the generation of recombinant, transforming viruses between infectious and endogenous elements. Several puzzles remain: for instance, why certain human viruses with high oncogenic potential in experimental animals are not associated with cancer in their natural host, such as BK virus and adenoviruses? Most kinds of viral tumors only appear after long incubation periods (e.g., Kaposi’s sarcoma) or after exposure to other predisposing cofactors (e.g., Burkitt’s lymphoma), indicating that the virus is a necessary but not sufficient agent of tumorigenesis. Thus, the majority of individuals carry lifelong infections without ill effects, and the cancers may be regarded as occasional “side effects” of much more frequent virus infection and transmission.

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  1. Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London, UK

    Robin A. Weiss

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  1. Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Hamilton Walk 3610, Philadelphia, 19104, Pennsylvania, USA

    Erle S. Robertson

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Weiss, R.A. (2012). Oncogenic Viruses and Cancer Transmission. In: Robertson, E. (eds) Cancer Associated Viruses. Current Cancer Research. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0016-5_5

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