JC virus and colorectal cancer: a possible trigger in the chromosomal instability pathway

摘要

This review summarizes the experimental data that have led to the hypothesis that JCV is a common cause of CIN in CRC.It has long been proposed that viruses play a role in the causation of cancer, but this has been easier to demonstrate in animals than in humans. There is abundant evidence that human papillomaviruses are involved in the pathogenesis of human cervical cancer [1]. There is "guilt by association" between the hepatitis viruses B and G and hepatocellular carcinoma [2]. Simian virus 40 (SV40) has been linked to mesothelioma [3]. Epstein-Ban virus has been linked to multiple neoplasms [4], and several laboratories have presented evidence to implicate SV40 and JG virus (JCV) in certain human cancers [5-8]. The link between oncogenic viruses and human cancers is an old concept that was embraced with some enthusiasm in the 1970s but lost favor shortly thereafter due to lack of evidence. These questions may be revisited with the advent of the more powerful investigational research tools currently available.