RNA Viruses that Cause Cancer

The 2 types of human viruses that cause cancer are those that attack the DNA and the RNA. Both types can delete and add genes and genetic materials into your cells and can turn your healthy cells to abnormal and later, cancerous.

One example among the DNA cancer-causing viruses is the Human Papilloma Virus known as HPV.

Do you know . . . Red Reishi mushrooms can protect your cells from DNA and RNA viruses.

The RNA viruses include . . .

1. Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is one of the hepatitis viruses that cause cancer. It causes inflammation in your liver. The inflammation induces chronic viral infection. The infection starts liver cirrhosis in 1.4% of hepatitis C carriers per year.

Liver cirrhosis can also be one of the negative effects of alcohol. Cirrhosis is linked to tumors in the liver.

If you have both liver cirrhosis and viral hepatitis, you have the highest risk for liver cancer. Worldwide, it is one of the most common types of tumor. It is also the deadliest. In the United States, infection with Hepatitis C is the leading cause of patients requiring liver transplant.

Among the different Hepatitis viruses, Hepatitis B (HBV) is another type that is a risk factor for tumor development. But Hepatitis B is not an RNA virus; instead it is a DNA virus. Hepatitis C (HCV) is milder compared to Hepatitis B (HBV) because it doesn't change itself into a copy of the DNA of your cells. But like the Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C damages liver cells and causes continuous growth of the damaged cells.

How is the Hepatitis C virus transmitted? You can get it if you come into contact with the blood of someone with Hepatitis C. In fact, 50% of HCV infection cases are due to blood transfusion. A vaccine for HCV is currently being researched.

Also, an increased risk for Non Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL) among people infected with Hepatitis C is evident although the reason why is not yet understood.

Check out these pages about lymphoma:

What is Lymphoma

Signs and Symptoms of Lymphoma

Hodgkins Lymphoma

B Cell Lymphoma and Its Prognosis

2. Human T cell leukemia virus-1 (HTLV-1)

This is one of the RNA viruses that cause cancer. It can be transmitted through. . .

• blood transfusion or

• from mother to infant through cells in breast milk.

The infection is harmless most of the time. However, about 1 in 20 infected individuals eventually develop adult t-cell leukemia.

See Facts About Leukemia.

The virus is also a risk factor for cutaneous t-cell lymphoma.

There are people with T cell leukemia who haven't had the Human T-Cell RNA type of virus. However, infection with the virus may increase the risk of getting it. Leukemia can also start among people who are exposed to cancer causing agents such as benzene.

Would you like to read more on leukemia? Check out these articles:

Causes of Leukemia Cells

Early Symptoms of Leukemia

3. Helicobacter pylori or H-pylori

Helicobacter Pylori is actually NOT one of the RNA viruses. H-pylori is a kind of bacteria which is able to survive and grow in your stomach and can lead to tumors. It is also becoming resistant to antibiotics.

Chronic infection with H-pylori causes an inflammation in your stomach. It may lead to gastric or duodenal ulcers. If you have chronic H-pylori infection, you have a 4-6 times increased risk for the most common form of stomach tumor and that is gastric adenocarcinoma.

The H-pylori bacterium doesn't grow inside your cells like the different viruses do. What H-pylori does is it induces inflammation of the stomach. When there is a swelling, the cells that are infected release chemicals known as "cytokines".

Over-production of cytokines can harm the cells in your stomach by increasing the chances of cancerous change in stomach cells. H. pylori infection is one of the indigestion causes.

Do you know that studies show olive oil's polyphenols can protect you from H-pylori? Find out how at this page: Health Benefits of Olive Oil.

Data from many researches done on infectious viruses seem to indicate that RNA and DNA viruses are the second most important risk factor for tumor growth, next to the effects of tobacco smoking. However, there are steps on prevention against these RNA viruses that cause cancer.

References:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Facts on Hepatitis - World Health Organization

Medical Microbiology: Southern Illinois University Carbondale