Tumour Virus Research

Tumour virus infections are usually caused by oncogenic DNA or RNA viruses.

Two main mechanisms exist for how they can cause cancer.

1. Directly through the release of viral proteins that disrupt tissue cells and lead to their transformation
2. Indirectly by viral integration, also known as insertional mutagenesis, which leads to DNA alteration in the host cell.

Tumor virus infections can undoubtedly result in major health issues in both humans and animals. The most serious health issue associated with these infections is tumour induction. Depending on the type of nucleic acid they contain, tumour viruses can be classified as either DNA viruses or RNA viruses.

Human tumour viruses cause at least 15% of all cases of human cancer. Currently known causes of human tumours include the small DNA tumour viruses known as human papillomaviruses (HPVs) and Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV)