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

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.
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.
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.

尽管病毒致癌的假说早在约100年前便已提出，但令人遗憾的是，时至今日的研究数据表明，一个世纪以来我们在病毒性癌症的预防与治疗领域并未取得显著进展。
据近期研究显示，全球约13%的癌症发生与病毒感染相关。当前，众多权威机构已证实并认可：EB病毒（Epstein-Barr virus, EBV）、乙型肝炎病毒（Hepatitis B virus, HBV）、丙型肝炎病毒（Hepatitis C virus, HCV）、人类疱疹病毒8型（Human Herpesvirus 8, HHV8）、人类T细胞嗜淋巴细胞病毒1型（Human T-cell Lymphotropic virus 1, HTLV1）及高致癌性人乳头瘤病毒（Human Papillomaviruses, HPVs）可诱发或促进人类癌症的发生发展。
鉴于当前病毒性癌症的预防与治疗策略仍存在明显不足，本综述旨在梳理致瘤病毒相关蛋白生物标志物（protein biomarkers）的现有研究进展。此外，我们通过评估所提出的生物标志物是否在体液中表达、是否具备可药性，以及是否发挥肿瘤抑制因子或癌蛋白的功能，以期阐明其临床应用潜力。
因此，我们认为本综述可为相关研究人员提供参考，并为探寻病毒性癌症防治的突破性方案提供指导。