Epstein-Barr virus: more than 50 years old and still providing surprises

Young LS 1 , Yap LF 2 , Murray PG 3

Affiliations 

  • 1 Warwick Medical School, The University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
  • 2 Department of Oral and Craniofacial Sciences and Oral Cancer Research Coordinating Centre, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 3 Institute of Cancer and Genomic Medicine, University of Birmingham, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Nat Rev Cancer, 2016 12;16(12):789-802.
PMID: 27687982 DOI: 10.1038/nrc.2016.92

Abstract

It is more than 50 years since the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the first human tumour virus, was discovered. EBV has subsequently been found to be associated with a diverse range of tumours of both lymphoid and epithelial origin. Progress in the molecular analysis of EBV has revealed fundamental mechanisms of more general relevance to the oncogenic process. This Timeline article highlights key milestones in the 50-year history of EBV and discusses how this virus provides a paradigm for exploiting insights at the molecular level in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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