Common virus could increase cancer risk

The discovery – if proven to be correct – could help in screening and prevention, say researchers from Harvard Medical School.

Around 90 per cent of people carry the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and most without suffering any ill effects – but it could raise the risk of some cancers, the researchers believe. Aside from breast cancer, the researchers have identified African Burkitt lymphoma (cancer of the lymphatic system), Hodgkin’s disease (another cancer of the lymphatic system), nasopharyngeal (nose and throat) carcinoma, gastric adenocarcinoma and leiomyosarcoma (soft tissue cancer) as cancers that could be more likely with the virus.

(Source: Ebio Medicine, 2016; 9: 148)

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