BK Virus Linked to โBladderโฃ Cancer Development Through Immune Response, Research Shows
A common virus, BK virus, may โฃplay โa importent role inโข the development of bladder cancer, but not through the mechanism previously thought. New โฃresearch indicates the virus doesn’t directly โฃintegrate into cellular DNAโ to stimulate tumor growth, as seen โฃinโ other cancers. โฃRather, the body’s immune response to the โvirus causes damage to bladder cells,โ which can ultimately lead toโฃ cancer.
Researchers,led by Dr.โฃ baker,โ discovered that DNA damage occurred not only in cells infected with โฃthe BKโ virus,โข but also in surrounding, healthy cells. This explains why bladder tumors often showโฃ noโฃ detectable traceโข of theโ virus when diagnosedโ – the initial damage may have occurred long before, when theโฃ virus was actively present.
Theโ BK virus is already a concern for kidney transplant patients. These individuals require immunosuppressant medication to prevent organ rejection,and this suppression can โฃreactivateโข the virus. This creates โa “double threat,”โ as explained in the research: patients may initially experiance illness dueโ to the active virus,โ and then โface an increased risk of โขdeveloping โฃbladder cancer later on.
“Little has beenโ invested in bladder cancerโ researchโฃ in the past, even though this cancer is common,” notesโฃ Stephen Leveson of York Against Cancer. โ”This new research helps to better understand the process โof cancer development โand may lead to new โฃways of diagnosis โand treatment.”
Dr.baker emphasizes the importance of this discovery in broadening our understanding of bladder cancer’s origins.โ “We had suspected forโค some time that theโฃ virus played a role, but weโค did not knowโ how. Now โคwe know how the BK โvirusโฃ can contribute to the development of bladder cancerโฃ and why tumorsโฃ no longer carry a trace โคof the โvirus.”
The โfindings are especiallyโ relevant for kidney transplant โpatients,โข whoโ are more than three times โขas likely to develop โbladder cancer due to their โincreased risk of BK virus infection. โ Future research will focus โคon developing improved methods for โคdetecting the BK โvirus.
