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Cancer and viruses: A double‐edged sword
Author(s) -
Butt Aisha Q.,
Miggin Sinéad M.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
proteomics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.26
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1615-9861
pISSN - 1615-9853
DOI - 10.1002/pmic.201100526
Subject(s) - sword , cancer , virology , biology , computational biology , medicine , computer science , world wide web , genetics
Oncovirus, synonymously called a ‘tumour virus’, is a virus that can cause cancer. An oncolytic virus preferentially infects the host's cancer cells and lyses them, causing tumour destruction, and is thus referred to as a ‘cancer killing virus’. With an estimated 11% of cancer‐associated deaths caused by oncoviruses and the possibility that many cancers may be treated by using oncolytic viruses, the role of viruses in cancer may be viewed as a double‐edged sword. A total of seven human cancer viruses have been identified as oncoviruses, having been associated with various cancers. Conversely, a large number of oncolytic viruses have shown great potential towards the treatment of certain types of cancer. Proteomics has now been applied towards understanding the complex interplay that exists between oncoviruses and the immune responses that serve to prevent oncoviral diseases. This review attempts to summarise the neoplastic potential of human tumour associated viruses and associated vaccine successes. The potential use of oncolytic viruses for the therapeutic intervention of cancer will also be discussed. Finally, this review will discuss the enormous potential of proteomics technology in the field of oncovirology.