Could 95 Percent of Cancer Cases be Caused by Viral Infection?
When it comes to identifying the causes of cancer, most researchers focus on environmental triggers and gene mutation. However, a new viewpoint comes from Paul Ewald, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Louisville at Kentucky. With his unique background, Ewald has applied Darwinian biology to the problem of cancer, and he believes viruses are the primary answer.
A handful of cancers have already been linked to viruses. For example, hepatitis B can cause liver cancer and the human papilloma virus can cause cervical cancer. However, Ewald believes that by the year 2050, we will have identified infections that cause as many as 95 percent of all cancers.
To verify this claim, Ewald points out that cancer requires “a few specific genes to be mutated, within a limited number of cell divisions, to cause the cells to divide uncontrollably.” A mutation of any of the other 30,000 genes results, not in cancer, but in cell death or similar crippling results. It has already been proven that both hepatitis B and human papilloma have evolved to specifically spur gene mutations associated with cancer.
Given the fact that random gene mutations are highly unlikely to target the correct genes, Ewald hypothesizes that unidentified infections are behind the majority of cancers. However, this does not mean that genetic defects or mutations do not contribute to cancer. Ewald states that “viruses push cells to the brink; additional mutations from genetic defects or the environment are needed for full-blown cancer.”
Sexually transmitted diseases and kissing diseases have the most potential to cause cancer, according to Ewald. This is due to the long-term low profile of these infections, which allows them to be passed on to multiple partners over the course of several years. Currently, almost all identified cancer-causing viruses fit into these categories.
Ewald believes that by targeting the evolution of viruses and other pathogens, healthcare costs could be cut by 80 percent in the future. This dramatic drop would largely be due to infection prevention measures that would ultimately halt the formation of cancer before it can manifest. Additionally, steps could be taken to ensure that, if you are infected with an identified virus, the probability of cancer can be minimized. Vaccines used to prevent cervical cancer and blood test screening for hepatitis B are current examples that such tactics work.
