Abstract
Cancer is a general term used when a group of cells escapes from the tissue control mechanisms and begins to proliferate at an abnormal rate in the body. Leukemias and lymphomas are lymphoproliferative disorders of the bone marrow and the blood; osteosarcoma involves the bones; and hepatoma involves the liver cells. Essentially, cancer cells can arise in all tissues as a response to intrinsic or extrinsic factors that are largely unknown. It is well documented that chemical carcinogens and radiation damage can lead to the transformation of a normal cell into a cancer cell capable of unlimited development and tumor formation. Cigarette smoking was shown to be associated with cancer of the lung. Environmentalists demand the removal of chemical carcinogens from the environment to reduce the incidence of cancer in humans, but this is an unrealistic approach. As regards viruses, some retroviruses are endogenous in humans, as has been shown with breast cancer, but the factors that control sensitivity or resistance to cancer are largely unknown. This is because genetic markers for determining these parameters are not yet available. Thus certain individuals develop cancer, while most of the population remains unaffected.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Bibliography
Alexander, J.J.; Bey, E.M.; Geddes, E.W.; and Lecatsas, G. Establishment of a continuously growing cell line from primary carcinoma of the liver. S.Afr. Med. J. 50: 2124–2128, 1976.
Aurelian, L., and Strand, B. Herpesvirus type 2 related antigens and their relevance to humoral and cell mediated immunity in patients with cervical cancer. Cancer Res. 36: 810–820, 1976.
Baxt, W.; Yates, J.W.; Wallace, H.J., Jr.; Holland, J.F.; and Spiegelman, S. Leukemia-specific DNA sequences in leukocytes of the leukemic member of identical twins. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 70: 2629–2632, 1973.
Chakrabarty, P.R.; Ruiz-Opazo, N.; Shouval, D.; and Shafritz, D.A. Identification of integrated hepatitis B virus DNA and suppression of viral RNA in an HBsAg-producing human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line. Nature 286: 531–533, 1980.
Edman, J.C.; Gray, P.; Valenzuela, P.; Rail, L.B.; and Rutter, W.J. Integration of hepatitis virus sequences and their expression in a human hepatoma cell. Nature 286: 535–538, 1980.
Galloway, D.A.; Fenoglio, C.; Shevchuk, M.; and McDougall, J.K. Detection of herpes simplex RNA in human sensory ganglia. Virology 95: 265–268, 1979.
Kalyanaraman, V.S.; Sarngadharan, M.G.; Bunn, P.A.; Minna, J.D.; and Gallo, RC. Antibodies in human sera reactive against an internal structural protein of human T-cell lymphoma virus. Nature 294: 271–273, 1981.
McDougall, J.K.; Galloway, D.A.; and Fenoglio, C.M. In-situ cytological hybridization to detect herpes simplex virus RNA in human tissues. In: Antiviral Mechalrisms in the Control of Neoplasia (P. Chandra, ed.), Plenum Press, New York, 1979, pp. 233–240.
Mesa-Tejada, R.; Keydar, I.; Ramanapayanan, M.; Ohne, T.; Fenoglio, C.; and Spiegelman, S. Detection in human breast carcinomas of an antigen immunologically related to a groupspecific antigen of mouse mammary tumor virus. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 75: 1529–1533, 1978.
Nahmias, A.J.; Naif, Z.M.; and Josey, W.E. Herpesvirus hominis type 2 infection associated with cervical cancer and prenatal disease. Perspect. Virol. 8, 73–88, 1971.
Poiesz, B.J.; Ruscetti, F.W.; Reitz, M.S.; Kalyanaraman, V.S.; and Gallo, R.C. Isolation of a new type C retrovirus (HTL V) in primary uncultured cells of a patient with Sezary T-cell leukaemia. Nature 294: 268–271, 1981.
Rawls, W.E.; Adam, E.; and Melnick, J.L. An analysis of seroepidemiological studies of herpesvirus type 2 and carcinoma of the cervix. Cancer Res. 33: 1477–1482,1973.
Reitz, M.S.; Miller, N.R; Wang-Staal, F.; Gallagher, RE.; Gallo, R.C.; and Gillespie, D.H. Primate type-C virus nucleic acid sequences (woolly monkey and baboon types) in tissues from a patient with acute myelogenous leukemia and in viruses isolated from cultured cells of the same patient. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 73: 2113–2117, 1976.
Recommended Reading
Epstein, M.A., and Achong, B.G. The Epstein-Barr Virus. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, 1979.
Gallo, R.G. (ed.) Recent Advances in Cancer Research, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology and Tumor Virology. CRC Press, Inc., Florida, USA, 1980.
Klein, G. Viral Oncology. Raven Press, New York, 1982.
Nahmias, A.J.; Dowdle, W.R.; and Schinazi, R.F. (eds.) The Human Herpesviruses. Elsevier, New York, 1981.
Rapp, F. Oncogenic Herpesviruses. CRC Press, Inc., Florida, USA, 1980.
Zur Hausen, H. The role of viruses in human tumors. Adv. Cancer Res. 33: 77–107,1980.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1983 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, The Hague
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Becker, Y., Hadar, J. (1983). Viruses and Human Cancer. In: Hadar, J. (eds) Molecular Virology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3906-9_28
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3906-9_28
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-3908-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-3906-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive