How can a virus cause cancer?
Some viruses cause cancer, such as cervical cancer in women that is caused by a virus called human papillomavirus. And how do they do it? To infect a cell, a virus needs to replicate and induce multiplication of the cells. And over time, cells can accumulate genetic mutations that lead to the onset of cancer. That is, if we manage to eliminate the infection, we can eliminate the cancer. In the lab where I am at Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes (iMM), that is precisely what we do. We have tried to design strategies to eliminate the viral infections that are associated with cancer and thus cure cancer.
Learn more about the work developed at Pedro Simas laboratory.
There is no great answer, without a great question. Discover our questions.
#chasingquestions