Viruses may play a role in lung cancer development
Papers presented at the 1st European
Lung Cancer Conference, jointly organized by the European Society for
Medical Oncology (ESMO) and the International Association for the Study
of Lung Cancer (IASLC) in Geneva, Switzerland highlight emerging
evidence that common viruses may contribute to the development of lung
cancer.
Experts agree that smoking is by far the most
important factor that contributes to lung cancer development. But other
factors can play a role in some cases.
In one report at the
conference (Abstract No. 124PD; Friday 25th April, 09:50) Dr. Arash
Rezazadeh and colleagues from the University of Louisville, Kentucky,
USA, describe the results of a study on 23 lung cancer samples from
patients in Kentucky.
The researchers found six samples that
tested positive for the presence of human papilloma virus (HPV), the
virus that also causes many cases of cervical cancer. One was later
shown to be a cervical cancer that had spread to the lungs.
Of
the remaining 5 virus-positive samples, two were HPV type 16, two were
HPV type 11 and one was HPV type 22. "The fact that five out of 22
non-small-cell lung cancer samples were HPV-positive supports the
assumption that HPV contributes to the development of non-small-cell
lung cancer," the authors say.
All the patients in this study
were also smokers, Dr. Rezazadeh notes. "We think HPV has a role as a
co-carcinogen which increases the risk of cancer in a smoking
population," he says.
In another paper (Abstract No. 125PD;
Friday 25th April, 09:50), Israeli researchers suggest that measles
virus may also be a factor in some lung cancers. Their study included
65 patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, of whom more than half had
evidence of measles virus in tissue samples taken from their cancer.
"Measles
virus is a ubiquitous human virus that may be involved in the
pathogenesis of lung cancer," says lead author Prof. Samuel Ariad from
Soroka Medical Center in Beer Sheva, Israel. "Most likely, it acts in
modifying the effect of other carcinogens and not as a causative factor
by itself."
