Infections Causing Human Cancer

Infections must be thought as one of the most important, if not the most important, risk factors for cancer development in humans. Approximately 15-20% of all cases of cancer around the world are caused by viruses. The establishment of a causal relationship between the presence of specific infective agents and certain types of human cancer represents a key step in the development of novel therapeutic and preventive strategies. In this book, Professor zur Hausen (Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine 2008) provides a thorough and comprehensive overview on carcinogenic infective agents -- viruses, bacteria, parasites and protozoons -- as well as their corresponding transforming capacities and mechanisms. The result is an invaluable and instructive reference for all oncologists, microbiologists and molecular biologists working in the area of infections and cancer. The author was among the first scientists to reveal the cervical cancer-inducing mechanisms of human papilloma viruses and isolated HPV16 and HPV18, and, as early as 1976, published the hypothesis that wart viruses play a role in the development of this type of cancer. CONTENTS HISTORICAL REVIEW The Early Period (1898-1911) Frustration and Successes (1912-1950) The Period from 1950 to 1965 A First Human Tumor Virus? The Difficult 1970s The Re-emergence of a Concept THE QUEST FOR CAUSALITY Infectious Agents as Direct Carcinogens Infectious Agents as Indirect Carcinogens TUMORS LINKED TO INFECTIONS - SOME GENERAL ASPECTS Tumor Types Linked to Infections Global Contributions of Infections to Human Cancer Host Interactions with Potentially Carcinogenic Infections HERPESVIRUSES AND ONCOGENESIS Alphaherpesviridae Betaherpesviridae Gammaherpesviridae PAPILLOMAVIRUSES - A MAJOR CAUSE OF HUMAN CANCERS Introduction Concept of Viral Interfering Cascades Cancers Linked to HPV Infections Role of Co-factors Preventive Vaccination Therapeutic Vaccination Therapy HEPADNAVIRUS FAMILY Hepatitis B Virus Animal Hepadnaviruses FLAVIVIRUS FAMILY Hepatitis C Virus RETROVIRUS FAMILY Human T-lymphotropic Retroviruses 1 (HTLV-1) Human T-lymphotropic Retroviruses 2 (HTLV-2) Human Endogenous Retroviruses Gibbon Ape Leukaemia Virus and Simian Sarcoma Virus OTHER VIRUS INFECTIONS POSSIBLY INVOLVED IN HUMAN CANCERS Polyomaviruses (JC, BK and SV40) HELICOBACTER, CHRONIC INFLAMMATION AND CANCER Discovery, Taxonomy and Genomics Life Cycle, Specificity, and Virulence Determinants in Cancer Development Prevention of H. Pylori Induced Cancer Animal Models Virulence Determinants of Enterohepatic Helicobacter Spp Enterohepatic Helicobacter Spp. - Are they Cocarcinogens? PARASITES AND HUMAN CANCER Schistosomiasis Infection with Liver Flukes (Opisthorchis Viverrini, O. Felineus, Clonorchis Sinensis) CANCERS WITH A POSSIBLE INFECTIOUS ETIOLOGY Leukemias and Lymphomas Human Breast Cancer Other Human Cancers Possibly Linked to Infectious Events From 1983 until his retirement in 2003, Harald zur Hausen acted as chairman of the management board and scientific director of the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg until his retirement in. Previously he worked at a number of different universities in the USA and Germany. Professor zur Hausen has served on a large number of different scientific and policy bodies in many different countries including the European Board of Directors of HUGO, the International Scientific Advisory Committee of the French National Cancer Institute and Vice-Chairman of the German American Academic Council. In 2008 Professor zur Hausen was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine for his research on the relationship between infections and cancer. Among his many other awards, he has held the Robert Koch Award, the Charles S. Mott Prize of the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation, the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Award, the German Cancer Award, and the Federal Order of Merit, as well as six honorary degrees and seven visiting professorships.