Oncomodulation by human cytomegalovirus: novel clinical findings open new roads

Abstract

The question whether human cytomegalovirus may affect cancer diseases has been discussed (very controversially) for decades. There are convinced believers and strict opponents of the idea that HCMV might be able to play a role in the course of cancer diseases. In parallel, the number of published reports on the topic is growing. Recently published and presented (Ranganathan P, Clark P, Kuo JS, Salamat S, Kalejta RF. A Survey of Human Cytomegalovirus Genomic Loci Present in Glioblastoma Multiforme Tissue Samples. 35th Annual International Herpes Workshop, Salt Lake City, 2010) data on HCMV detection in glioblastoma tissues and colocalisation of HCMV proteins with cellular proteins known to be relevant for glioblastoma progression motivated us to recapitulate the current state of evidence.