Viruses get a bad rap as potential cancer-causers, but at least one class of viruses that commonly live on human skin – so-called “low-risk” human papillomaviruses — appear to play an unwitting role in protecting us against skin cancer according to a new study published in Nature.
Patients who have immune systems that are suppressed from diseases or medical therapy are at greatly increased risk for cancers linked to viral infections, particularly squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the skin. Although multiple studies have tried to show a link between human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and SCC, none have been able to show that HPVs actually drive the development of these common skin cancers, say Shawn Demehri, MD, PhD investigator in the Center for Cancer Immunology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) department of Dermatology and the MGH Cancer Center, and colleagues.
