Table 1.
Summary of the viruses classified as Group 1 carcinogens for humans according to the IARC, route of transmission and associated malignancies.
| Virus | Genetic Material | Route of Transmission | Associated Cancer Types |
|---|---|---|---|
| EBV | dsDNA | Oral transmission via saliva, transfusion (reported) | Burkitt lymphoma, classic Hodgkin’s lymphoma (especially mixed-cellular subtypes), Lymphomas in immunosuppressed individuals (post-transplant and HIV-associated lymphoproliferative disorders), Extra-nodal Natural Killer/T-cell lymphoma (nasal type), Nasopharyngeal carcinoma, Gastric cancer (LD), Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the elderly (LD), Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LD) |
| HBV | partially dsDNA | Percutaneous and permucosal exposure to infected body fluids, sexual contact, blood and blood product transfusion, solid organ transplantation from an infected donor, unsafe needle practices, vertical transmission | Hepatocellular carcinoma, Cholangiocarcinoma (LD), Hodgkin’s lymphoma (LD), non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (LD), Pancreatic Carcinoma (LD) |
| HCV | ssRNA(+) | Blood and blood product transfusion, solid organ transplantation from an infected donor, unsafe needle practices, perinatal and sexual transmission (less effectively) | Hepatocellular carcinoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (especially B-cell), Biliary tract and Gallbladder carcinoma (LD), Myeloid Leukemia (LD), Thyroid carcinoma (LD) |
| HHV-8 | dsDNA | Oral transmission via saliva, parenteral transmission (possible), transplantation (reported) | Kaposi’s sarcoma, Primary effusion lymphoma, Multicenter Castleman’s Disease |
| HPV | dsDNA | Skin-to-skin contact, skin-to-mucosa contact, perinatal transmission (rare) | Cervical Cancer (HPV:16,18, 31,33,35,39,45,51,52,56,58,59), HPV16: cancer of the vulva, vagina, penis and anus, oral cancer, oropharyngeal carcinoma, tonsillar carcinoma, cancer of the larynx |
| MCPyV | dsDNA | Skin contact (Not clarified) | Merkel Cell Carcinoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (reported) |
| HTLV-1 | ssRNA(+) | Sexual transmission, vertical transmission (mostly through breastfeeding), transfusion of cellular blood products, unsafe needle practices (rare) | Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma |
| HIV-1 | ssRNA(+) | Sexual transmission, parenteral transmission (blood and blood product transfusion, unsafe needle practices), vertical transmission (placental, child delivery, breastfeeding) | Kaposi’s sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Cervical and anogenital carcinoma, Cancer of the conjunctiva, Cancer of the vulva, vagina, and penis (LD), Skin carcinoma (LD), Lung and Hepatocellular carcinoma (LD) |
“IARC monographs on the evaluation of carcinogenic risks to humans, volume 100 B, biological agents” (4) is the source of the information in this table.
LD, Limited Data.