Viral and cellular oncogenes in papillomavirus-associated cancers

Abstract

Papillomaviruses are one of several factors implicated in the aetiology of squamous cell carcinomas both in man and in animals. Their potential for malignant transformation is fully expressed when co-operation takes place between viral functions, cellular functions and chemical or physical co-carcinogens. This review presents a brief description of the viral transforming genes and of the cellular genes involved in transformation, and attempts to analyse how the co-operation between the two sets of genes is achieved.