Abstract
Due to its high morbidity and mortality, gastric cancer is a topic of a great concern throughout the world. Major ways of treatment are gastrectomy and chemotherapy, unfortunately they are not always successful. In a search for more efficient therapy strategies, viruses and their potential seem to be an important issue. On one hand, several oncogenic viruses have been noticed in the case of gastric cancer, making the positive treatment even more advantageous, but on the other, viruses exist with a potential therapeutic role in this malignancy.
Highlights
Gastric cancer is, according to different sources, the 5th most common cancer in the world [1].According to the GLOBOCAN 2018 database, over 1 million cases were reported in 2018, including781,631 deaths [1]
The most prominent and frequent pathogens related to cancers are human papillomavirus (HPV; associated with 640,000 cases), hepatitis B virus (HBV; 420,000 cases), hepatitis C virus (HCV; 170,000 cases) and Epstein–Barr virus (EBV; 120,000 cases) [3], but the oncogenic role of several others have been confirmed in different types of cancer (Table 1)
Direct tumorigenesis is mediated by carcinogenic agents helping to keep the tumor phenotype and help the virus maintain as a genetic element, while indirect transformation is conditions by two mechanisms—one is triggering chronic infection, and the second is immunosuppression
Summary
Gastric cancer is, according to different sources, the 5th most common cancer in the world [1]. Using this database, one can notice a downward trend in the incidence of this particular type of cancer [2]. Diet and activity have a significant impact on morbidity All these factors affect a number of cytogenetic changes leading to uncontrolled cell proliferation and, as a result, the formation of tumors [1]. Viruses have two faces—apart from being a cancer factor, viruses can kill malignant cells, simultaneously sparring the healthy ones [4]. This oncolytic feature is interesting, as it potentially may be translated into clinical/therapeutic advantage, showing, that viruses have a double-sword role in gastric cancer.
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