Evidence mapPaperPMID 42417944Full record

ReviewMolecular biomedicine2026

Virus infections and cancers: from mechanisms to therapeutics.

Yu Li, Wenjie Yu, Jiaxin Yun, Jingqian Wang, Yakun Liu, Huancheng Su, Hongrui Guo, Jiaolin Yang, Yaru Yan, Xiaoliang Yan and 3 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Molecular biomedicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Yu Li *Department of the First Clinical Medical College, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China.
Wenjie Yu *Department of the First Clinical Medical College, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China.
Jiaxin YunDepartment of the First Clinical Medical College, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China.
Jingqian WangDepartment of the First Clinical Medical College, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China.
Yakun LiuDepartment of the First Clinical Medical College, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China.
Huancheng SuDepartment of Gynecology, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China.
Hongrui GuoDepartment of Gynecology, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China.
Jiaolin YangDepartment of Gynecology, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China.
Yaru YanDepartment of Gynecology, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China.
Xiaoliang YanDepartment of the First Clinical Medical College, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China.
Sanyuan ZhangDepartment of the First Clinical Medical College, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China. zsyprofessor@sxmu.edu.cn.
Hailan YangDepartment of the First Clinical Medical College, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China. yanghailan100@163.com.
Zhe WangDepartment of the First Clinical Medical College, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China. wangzhe@sxmu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9735-2007

Funding

china postdoctoral foundation committee 2021M691995The Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi Province 202503021211266
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Viral infections are a major contributor to global cancer incidence and mortality. However, integrative reviews that connect viral classification, carcinogenic mechanisms, tumor microenvironment remodeling, and translational strategies remain limited. This review summarizes the classification and epidemiological characteristics of major oncogenic viruses, including human papillomavirus (HPV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV), human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1), Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), as well as emerging viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We then discuss the molecular basis of virus-associated carcinogenesis, including viral oncogenes, viral DNA integration, epigenetic remodeling, aberrant host signaling, and metabolic dysregulation. We further examine how chronic inflammation and fibrosis create oncogenic niches within the tumor microenvironment (TME), how viruses promote tumor progression through immune evasion and immune exhaustion, and how infected cells interact with stromal and immune components of the TME. At the preventive and therapeutic levels, we discuss antiviral therapies, vaccines, biomarker-based precision diagnostics, and prognostic strategies, with particular attention to the synergistic potential of emerging therapeutic approaches such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), CAR-T therapy, and oncolytic viruses (OVs). Finally, we highlight how multi-omics approaches, single-cell transcriptomics, spatial transcriptomics, organoid models, and artificial intelligence can advance mechanistic studies and translational innovation in virus-associated cancers. Overall, this review provides an integrated framework for understanding, preventing, and treating virus-associated tumorigenesis.

Indexed as

NeoplasmsOncogenic VirusesTumor Virus InfectionsVirus DiseasesAnimalsHumansTumor MicroenvironmentBiomarkersCarcinogenic virusesEpigeneticsPrecision therapyTumor microenvironment

Identifiers

PMID42417944
PMCPMC13346418

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.