Viruses: causative agents of cancer

Abstract

Evidence accumulated over a period of 60 years has clearly established that a number of different viruses cause neoplasia (of a broad spectrum) amongst a variety of animals. Although it is known that viruses do produce self-limiting proliferative human diseases, complete verification of a human viral carcinogen remains to be provided. This paper presents an overview of the conceptual and practical tools for the detection of tumor viruses, which have derived from experimental model systems. It indicates how these are being applied to studies of human malignant disease, with special reference to assessing a possible viral etiology for laryngeal cancer.