Fifteen to Twenty Percent of Cancers May Be Caused by Infections

Cancer--typically understood as a result of mutations or errors within the genetic code in cells--is also caused by infections from viruses, bacteria, and parasites.

"I believe that, conservatively, 15-20% of all cancer is caused by infections; however, the number could be larger--maybe double,” stated Dr. Andrew J. Dannenberg, director of the Cancer Center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center (New York, NY, USA) and Henry R. Erle, M.D., a professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. "Unfortunately, the public, as well as many health-care workers, are unaware of the significance of chronic infection as a potentially preventable cause of cancer.

During a speech at the American Association for Cancer Research's (AACR) sixth annual International Conference Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, on December 5, 2007, in Philadelphia, PA, USA, Dr. Dannenberg stressed the link between chronic infection, inflammation, and cancer as an opportunity to reduce the global cancer burden. He reported that research milestones that have provided the basis for vaccine development and anti-infectives to combat cancer.

Some of the topics discussed at the meeting included: liver cancer, caused by chronic hepatitis B and C; human papillomavirus (HPV), linked to cervical, throat and oral cancer (oropharyngeal carcinoma); a form of gastric cancer, called adenocarcinoma, and a form of lymphoma, called MALT lymphoma, that have been linked to Helicobacter pylori bacteria; bladder cancer, caused by chronic infection with Schistosome parasites; and how inflammation caused by infections may lead to a variety of cancers.

Dr. Dannenberg believes that recent evidence linking HPV to throat and oral cancer--not only to cervical cancer--suggests that adolescent boys in addition to girls may benefit from being vaccinated against HPV.


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Weill Cornell Medical Center