Danbury scientists link common virus to cancer

Local medical scientists have found one of the most common viruses in the human body is linked to poor outcomes in patients with most kinds of early-stage cancers. Scientists at the Western Connecticut Health Network Research Institute in Danbury have obtained evidence that when human cells with the Epstein-Barr virus, a member of the herpes virus family, pass through a tumor, the virus is reactivated and the tumor and virus work together to suppress the immune system. For decades, doctors and scientists have known this virus is linked to a few malignancies, mostly lymphomas. But the Danbury scientists say their work shows it’s linked to most cancers, including the most common types of lung, colon, prostate, liver and bladder cancer. Their discoveries are detailed in an article published in “PLOS ONE,” a peer-review scientific journal published by the nonprofit Public Library of Science. “The implications for treating patients in the future are huge,” said...