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Virology

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Encyclopedia of Cancer

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Definition

Virology addresses the molecular nature of viruses, their genetic content, the pathway by which they enter cells and multiply using the molecular machinery of the host cell, and the mechanisms by which they elicit diseases. Tumor virology is a specialized discipline analyzing the association of particular virus types with cancers in animals and humans.

Characteristics

In 1964 the first human tumor virus, the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), was isolated from tumor samples of a patient with African Burkitt lymphoma. Subsequently, EBV was linked to the development of other forms of cancer. In the 44 years since the discovery of EBV, other human tumor viruses have been identified (Table 1).

Table 1 Major oncogenic viruses
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References

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See Also

  • (2012) Humanized antibodies. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, p 1760. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_2863

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  • (2012) Monoclonal antibody. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, p 2367. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_6842

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  • (2012) Monoclonal antibody therapy. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp 2367–2368. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_3823

    Google Scholar 

  • (2012) P53. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, p 2747. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_4331

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CRUK Institute for Cancer Studies, Molecular Pharmacology, Medical School, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK

    Paul G. Murray

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  1. Paul G. Murray
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Correspondence to Paul G. Murray .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Abt. Tumorgenetik, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany

    Manfred Schwab

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Murray, P.G. (2015). Virology. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_6195-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_6195-2

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27841-9

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