Virus-induced cancers of the skin and mucosa

  • \(\textit {Introduction:}\) Human papillomavirus (HPV) alone is thought to cause ~ 610,000 cases of cancer per year, and is the dominant aetiological agent for ano-genital (esp. cervical) and head and neck cancers (esp. oropharyngeal). Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV) is a more recently discovered virus which causes Merkel cell car cinoma, a rare but highly aggressive skin malignancy. \(\textit {Methods:}\) We explored the available published evidence to see if transmission of live HPV or MCV virus in smoke generated by laser or diathermy was feasible, and would pose an infection risk. Long-term infection with such carcinogenic viruses would then pose an increased risk for the development of virus-induced cancers in medical personnel. \(\textit {Results:}\) The morphological structures of both HPV and MCV are very similar, and the size, external capsids and genomic structures show striking similarity. Both viruses have a non-enveloped external protein capsid consisting of 72 capsomeres, and a double-stranded DNA core. Sizes of both viruses range from 50 to 60 nm. There are now recent data demonstrating live and infectious HPV in smoke, and that these viruses can be used to infect cells in vitro. Further, anecdotal reports of virus transmission leading to disease causation in the production of respiratory airway viral warts (benign disease), and, finally, reports of HPV-induced oropharyngeal carcinoma (malignant disease) in two gynaecological surgeons as an occupational health hazard have been published recently. \(\textit {Conclusion:}\) There is now sufficient evidence to support the hypotheses that live infectious carcinogenic viruses can be transmitted via smoke generated from surgical procedures, and, in rare instances, actually cause significant disease. Protective measures such as smoke extraction and airway protection should be instituted for all healthcare personnel, particularly those with multiple repeated exposures such as gynaecological surgeons.

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Metadaten
Author:Peter K. C. GoonORCiDGND, Patrick K. Y. GoonGND, Eunice K. H. TanGND, Robin A. F. CrawfordGND, Nick J. LevellGND, Holger SudhoffGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:hbz:294-59694
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s13555-017-0182-5
Parent Title (English):Dermatology and therapy
Subtitle (English):are we dealing with "smoking guns” or "smoke and mirrors" in the operating theatre?
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2018/07/18
Date of first Publication:2017/05/08
Publishing Institution:Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsbibliothek
Tag:Open Access Fonds
Benign tumours; HPV; Human papillomavirus; MCV; Malignant tumours; Merkel cell polyomavirus; Smoke
Volume:7
Issue:2
First Page:249
Last Page:254
Note:
Article Processing Charge funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and the Open Access Publication Fund of Ruhr-Universität Bochum.
Dewey Decimal Classification:Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / Medizin, Gesundheit
open_access (DINI-Set):open_access
faculties:Medizinische Fakultät
Licence (English):License LogoCreative Commons - CC BY-NC 4.0 - Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International