Human oncogenic viruses: an overview of protein biomarkers in viral cancers and their potential use in clinics

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Although the idea that carcinogenesis might be caused by viruses was first voiced about 100 years ago, today’s data disappointingly show that we have not made much progress in preventing and/or treating viral cancers in a century. According to recent studies, infections are responsible for approximately 13% of cancer development in the world. Today, it is accepted and proven by many authorities that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Hepatitis B virus (HBV), Hepatitis C virus (HCV), Human Herpesvirus 8 (HHV8), Human T-cell Lymphotropic virus 1 (HTLV1) and highly oncogenic Human Papillomaviruses (HPVs) cause or/and contribute to cancer development in humans.

Areas covered

Considering the insufficient prevention and/or treatment strategies for viral cancers, in this review we present the current knowledge on protein biomarkers of oncogenic viruses. In addition, we aimed to decipher their potential for clinical use by evaluating whether the proposed biomarkers are expressed in body fluids, are druggable, and act as tumor suppressors or oncoproteins.

Expert opinion

Consequently, we believe that this review will shed light on researchers and provide a guide to find remarkable solutions for the prevention and/or treatment of viral cancers.

KEYWORDS:

• Epstein-Barr virus
• Hepatitis B and C virus
• Human Herpesvirus 8
• Human T-cell lymphotropic virus 1
• Human Papillomaviruses
• protein biomarkers

Article highlights

• Viral infections causes 13% of human cancer development worldwide.

• EBV, HBV, HCV, HHV8, HTLV1 and high-risk HPVs cause cancer development in humans.

• Biomarkers may be the first step for prevention or treatment of viral cancers.

• We provide a global and in-depth perspective of viral cancers’ protein biomarkers.

• We evaluate clinical capacity of biomarkers (existence in body fluids, druggability).

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/14737140.2022.2139681

Additional information

Funding

This paper received no funding.