Researchers in the United Kingdom have identified a virus commonly caught in childhood that may contribute to bladder cancer later in life.
Scientists at the University of York say the discovery highlights the potential to prevent some bladder cancers by detecting and managing the infection earlier in life.
The findings, released in the journal Science Advances, show that the BK virus, which typically infects children with no clear symptoms, remains inactive in the kidneys for decades.
Doctors have gained much of their understanding of this virus through kidney transplant patients, who sometimes experience reactivation of the infection due to medication that weakens the immune system.
In controlled laboratory experiments using human urinary tract tissue, the researchers observed that exposure to the BK virus caused a distinctive pattern of DNA damage as the body tried to fight the infection.
This defensive reaction, driven by antiviral enzymes, can mistakenly injure the human cell’s own DNA, a form of ‘friendly fire’ that may lead to harmful genetic changes.
The study supports the idea that the body’s response to the virus, rather than the virus itself, can trigger mutations that eventually result in cancer.
Mechanism Could Explain Why Virus Is Missing in Tumours
Dr Simon Baker, the study’s senior author, explained, “In other types of virus-related cancer, such as cervical cancer, we know that virus DNA combines with our own genetic material to drive tumour development. Our results have shown that in the bladder, the tissue’s defensive response to the virus causes DNA changes which can lead to cancer.”
“We found that DNA damage happens not only in infected cells but also in surrounding ‘bystander cells’, witnessing infection in their neighbours. This is important because it might explain why most bladder cancers have no sign of the virus in them when they are diagnosed many years later,” Baker further noted.
Although the BK virus usually remains harmless while dormant, it can flare up under immunosuppression and cause injury to the kidneys, ureter, and bladder.
Currently, bladder cancer prevention efforts mainly focus on reducing smoking.
The researchers say their work opens a new pathway for prevention by identifying and monitoring the BK virus during early life stages.
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