Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Review
  • Published:

Oncogenic DNA viruses

Oncogene volume 20, pages 7820–7823 (2001)Cite this article

The early discoveries of Gross (1951) of viral causation of murine leukemias, the subsequent demonstration of retroviruses as the causative factors and the presence of similar viruses particularly in lymphoproliferative disorders in cattle, cats, and various rodent species, underlined for decades the justification of attempts to search for similar agents in human cancers, subsequently identified as retroviruses. When Stehelin et al. (1976) proved the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes, it appeared to be almost odd to search for agents who possess their own oncogenes and may be involved in human cancers.

Yet, until today, with the exception of the human T-lymphotropic retrovirus type I as causative agent of adult T-cell leukemia, endemic in the coastal regions of southern Japan, different groups of viruses emerged as prime factors even for some common human cancers. Besides Hepatitis C, they all contain DNA as genetic material and belong to very different virus families. Roughly 15% of the global cancer burden can be linked to these infections. An additional 5% can be attributed to bacterial (Helicobacter pylori) and parasitic infections (Schistosoma, Opistorchis, Clonorchis). DNA virus types known to be involved in human cancers are listed in Table 1.

Table 1 DNA viruses linked to human cancers
Full size table

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  • Arbuthnot P, Kew M . 2001 Int. J. Exp. Path. 82: 77–100

  • Astori G, Lavergne D, Benton C, Hockmayr B, Egawa K, Garbe C, de Villiers E-M . 1998 J. Invest. Dermatol. 110: 752–755

  • Bachmann A, Hanke B, Zawatzky R, Soto U, van Riggelen J, zur Hausen H, Rösl F . 2001 J. Virol. in press

  • Beasley RP, Hwang LY, Lin CC, Chien CS . 1981 Lancet 2: 1129–1133

  • Boshart M, Gissmann L, Ikenberg H, Kleinheinz A, Scheurlen W, zur Hausen H . 1984 EMBO J. 3: 1151–1157

  • Boxman IL, Berkhout RJ, Mulder LH, Wolkers MC, Bouwes Bavinck JN, Vermeer BJ, ter Schegget J . 1997 J. Invest. Dermatol. 108: 712–715

  • Chang Y, Cesarman E, Pessin MS, Lee F, Culpepper J, Knowles DM, Moore PS . 1994 Science 266: 1865–1869

  • Choo QL, Kuo G, Weiner AJ, Overby LR, Bradley DW, Houghton M . 1989 Science 244: 359–362

  • De Villiers E-M . 1998 Biomed. Pharmacother. 52: 26–33

  • Dürst M, Gissmann L, Ikenberg H, zur Hausen H . 1983 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 80: 3812–3815

  • Epstein MA, Achong BG, Barr YM . 1964 Lancet 1: 702–703

  • Evans AS . 1976 Yale J. Biol. Med. 49: 175–195

  • Gross L . 1951 Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 78: 27–32

  • Heilbronn R, zur Hausen H . 1989 J. Virol. 63: 683–369

  • Heilbronn R, Albrecht I, Stephan S, Bürkle A, zur Hausen H . 1993 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90: 11406–11410

  • Hinuma Y, Nagata K, Hanaoka M, Nakai M, Matsumoto T, Kinoshita KI, Shirakawa S, Miyoshi I . 1981 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 78: 6476–6480

  • Hsieh JJ, Henkel T, Salmon P, Robey E, Peterson MG, Hayward SD . 1996 Mol. Cell. Biol. 16: 952–959

  • Jackson S, Storey A . 2000 Oncogene 19: 592–598

  • Poiesz BJ, Ruscetti FW, Gazdar AF, Bunn PA, Minna JD, Gallo RC . 1980 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77: 7415–7419

  • Polack A, Hortnagel K, Pajic A, Christoph B, Baier B, Falk M, Mautner J, Geltinger C, Bornkamm GW, Kempkes B . 1996 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93: 10411–10416

  • Schlehofer JR, Gissmann L, Matz B, zur Hausen H . 1983 Int. J. Cancer 32: 99–103

  • Schmitt J, Mergener K, Gissmann L, Schlehofer JR, zur Hausen H . 1989 Virology 172: 73–81

  • Schwarz E, Freese UK, Gissmann L, Mayer W, Roggenbuck B, zur Hausen H . 1985 Nature 314: 111–114

  • Shamanin V, zur Hausen H, Lavergne D, Proby C, Leigh IM, Neumann C, Hamm H, Goos M, Haustein U-F, Jung EG, Plewig G, Wolff H, de Villiers E-M . 1996 J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 88: 802–811

  • Soto U, Das BC, Lengert M, Finzer F, zur Hausen H, Rösl F . 1999 Oncogene 18: 3187–3198

  • Soto U, Denk C, Lengert M, Finzer P, Hutter K-J, zur Hausen H, Rösl F . 2000 Int. J. Cancer 86: 811–817

  • Stehelin D, Varmus HE, Bishop JM, Vogt PK . 1976 Nature 260: 170–173

  • Strobl LJ, Höfelmayr H, Stein C, Marschall G, Brielmeier M, Laux G, Bornkamm GW, Zimber-Strobl U . 1997 Immunobiology 198: 299–306

  • Thomas M, Banks L . 1998 Oncogene 17: 2943–2953

  • Vonka V . 2000 Philo. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B. Biol. Sci. 355: 1831–1841

  • zur Hausen H . 1994a Curr. Topics Microbiol. Immunol. 186: 131–156

  • zur Hausen H . 1994b Lancet 343: 955–957

  • zur Hausen H . 1996 Biochem. Biophys. Acta. Rev. Cancer 1288: F55–F78

  • zur Hausen H . 2001 Lancet 357: 381–384

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany

    Harald zur Hausen

Authors
  1. Harald zur Hausen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Harald zur Hausen.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

zur Hausen, H. Oncogenic DNA viruses. Oncogene 20, 7820–7823 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1204958

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1204958

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links