DNA from Ancient Viruses Helps Many Cancers Grow
On Jul. 17, 2024, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) announced that a study, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIHH), found that fragments of DNA from an ancient virus act like “on switches” for genes that help tumors grow and survive.
The researchers’ analysis singled out one virus-derived DNA fragment in particular, known as LTR10, that appeared to be particularly active in a variety of cancers. That list includes common cancers like colorectal and lung, as well as less common cancers like bile duct and stomach. The study was published in Science Advances.
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Source: National Cancer Institute
Credit: Illustration: Retroviruses enter a host cell, slip their DNA into the host cell’s genome, and hijack the cell’s machinery to make more copies of themselves. Credit: National Human Genome Research Institute.
