Can a newly found virus variant be a cause of cancer?

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common virus and most adults are carriers following a primary infection, often without clinical signs. During recent years Cecilia Söderberg-Nauclér, professor at Karolinska Institutet, and other researchers have identified CMV in several cancer forms. More than 90 percent of brain tumours, breast, colon and prostate cancer are CMV positive. Why only few carriers develop cancer has remained unexplainable

Professor Nauclér and her research team are now studying the role of the CMV variant in cancer, which hopefully will improve the understanding of the causes of cancer and thereby open for new treatment options for patients. This statement is supported by current treatment data for 40 glioblastoma patients, which demonstrate a marked reduced mortality at two years inpatients receiving anti-viral therapy as add-on therapy.