These infections are actually related to cancer!

In medicine, infection refers to a local or systemic inflammatory response caused by biological factors (bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites and other pathogens) invading the human body. It can be said that the essence of infection is inflammation. However, the outcome of infection may not only be inflammation, but also cancer.

Today I will sort out for you the relationship between some common infections and certain cancers. I hope that you can treat them with caution when you encounter these infections.

The most likely biological factor to cause cancer is a virus

Viruses are one of the most important risk factors for human cancer.

Viruses that can cause cancer are called oncogenic viruses or tumor viruses. Hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), etc. may cause liver cancer; human papillomavirus (HPV) may cause cervical cancer, as well as cancers of the vagina, vulva, rectum, anus and oropharynx; Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) may cause diseases such as non-keratinizing nasopharyngeal carcinoma; human T-cell virus (HTLV-1) can cause adult T-cell leukemia.

The fundamental reason why viruses cause cancer is that they cause DNA damage or genomic instability in the host cells.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) does not directly cause cancer, but it is associated with many malignancies, especially Kaposi's sarcoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, anal cancer, and cervical cancer. HIV can damage the immune system, making it more likely that cancer-causing viruses will get out of control and more likely to cause cancer.

Some bacteria can also cause cancer

In addition to viruses, certain types of bacteria can also cause some cancers.

The most prominent example is the relationship between chronic infection of the stomach wall with Helicobacter pylori (Hp) and gastric cancer; previous infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae is also associated with a slightly increased risk of lung cancer.

Image source: Wikipedia

Infection prevention and control are important

Since the above-mentioned carcinogenic viral or bacterial infections are so closely related to cancer, only by effectively preventing and controlling these infections can we truly build a strong line of defense against related cancers.