Virus-associated lymphomagenesis

At least 2 billion people are affected by viral infections worldwide. The infections induce a lot of various human diseases and are one of the main causes of human mortality. In particular, they can lead to development of various human cancers. Up to 15-20% of human cancer incidence can be attributed to viruses. Although viral infections are very common in the general population, only few of them result in clinically relevant lesions. Certain associations between virus infections and malignancy are strong and irrefutable, the others are still speculative. The criteria most often used for determining the causality are the consistence of the association, either epidemiologic or at the molecular level, and oncogenicity of viruses or particular viral genes in animal models or cell cultures. Due to some ambiguity of such a determination, it is instructive to consider by specific cases what evidence is generally accepted as sufficient to establish a causal relation between virus and cancer. Lymphomas are one of the best studied cancer types closely associated with a small but definite range of viruses. Numerous data show a close interrelation between lymphomagenesis and infection by such viruses as Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). For instance, experiments on monkeys artificially infected with viruses and data on anti-cancer effect of specific antiviral preparations strongly suggest the involvement of viruses in lymphoma development. The present review is devoted to the association of different viruses with human lymphomas and to viral genes potentially involved in the neoplastic process. The recognition of virus involvement in lymphomagenesis may facilitate new strategies for cancer therapy, diagnosis and screening and can lead to a reduction in the number of individuals at risk of disease.