We often talk about the genetic or environmental causes of cancer, but some of them could be due to viruses. This is what a Franco-German Inserm team, which works on infectious diseases, reveals. In their study published in Nature Communications, the researchers show that the Epstein-Barr virus, present in 95% of the world’s adult population, can trigger cancers of the lymphatic system, stomach or nasopharynx.
Epstein-Barr is harmless to most people. It enters the body during a banal respiratory tract infection or during mononucleosis. From the same family as herpes, this virus is forgotten most of the time, but sometimes proliferates to infect new cells.
The virus disrupts cell division
Epstein-Barr contains a protein called BNRF1 that comes into contact with cells in the body and changes normal cell division. Chromosomes are poorly distributed, leading to a risk of cancer. “The Epstein-Barr virus could cause more cancer cases than we suspected. We suggest the development of a vaccine to reduce the frequency of contact with the Epstein-Barr virus and the associated cancer risk, ”explains Henri Jacques Delécluse, co-author of the study. Several prototypes already exist, but none is currently on the market.
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