What Is Viral Oncogenesis?

An oncovirus or oncogenic virus is a virus that can cause cancer. This term originated from studies of acutely transforming retroviruses in the 1950–60s, when the term "oncornaviruses" was used to denote their RNA virus origin.

What is an example of viral oncogenesis?

Oncogenic DNA viruses include EBV, hepatitis B virus (HBV), human papillomavirus (HPV), human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8), and Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV). Oncogenic RNA viruses include, hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human T-cell lymphotropic virus-1 (HTLV-1).

What does oncogenesis mean?

Oncogenesis is the process through which healthy cells become transformed into cancer cells. It is characterized by a series of genetic and cellular changes, including oncogene activation, that lead the cell to divide in an uncontrolled manner.