Abstract
During the past few years one role of papillomavirus infections in human genital cancer became apparent (reviewed in [3]). Cervical dysplasias as precursor lesions of genital cancer can be induced by specific human papillomavirus (HPV) types. Biopsies derived from cervical, vulvar, and penile cancer regularly contain specific types of HPV DNA, in contrast to precursor lesions. In the latter the DNA persists in an episomal state. The malignant tumors preferentially contain viral DNA integrated into chromosomal DNA. The integrational pattern reveals a remarkable specificity on the side of the viral genome. Transcripts of specific open reading frames are produced within the tumor cells and point to an active role of the viral genome in malignant conversion of the cells. Very recently evidence has been obtained suggesting a failing cellular control of viral genome expression as a main factor in malignant conversion of the cells [3].
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References
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© 1987 Springer-Verlag
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zur Hausen, H., de Villiers, EM. (1987). Papillomavirus Infections in Esophageal Cancer. In: Wagner, G., You-Hui, Z. (eds) Cancer of the Liver, Esophagus, and Nasopharynx. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-71510-5_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-71510-5_19
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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