Back in the 1980s, one my classmates was the son of a cancer researcher at MD Anderson. He gave a lecture to our biology class... and it was about the role viruses play in causing cancer. He was adamant that almost all cancers had a viral cause. I have no idea of that is true... except in the case of some ovarian cancers. But I’ll never forget that lecture.
I’ve heard something to that effect about cancers being caused initially by viruses. Similar to what researchers have discovered about ulcers. Considering the amount of $ that drug companies, insurance companies, politicians and the medical industry in general are making off of the ongoing “war” against cancer, although horrifying, it would not be surprising to know that they’ve hidden the truth.
I very much doubt that all cancers have viral origins. There are IMO several factors which lead to cancer tumors. Viruses could be a small fraction.
Why smokers get lung cancer 5 times as often as non-smokers? Do viruses only like smokers? Sounds silly.
Why obese women get more cancers in breast and other places than slim women? I doubt if viruses can tell who is obese.
Why men who eat lot of red meat get more prostate cancers than vegetarians? Prostate cancer is rare in India which is mostly vegetarians. Again, viruses is not the answer.
HPV is also known to cause oral cancer. Michael Douglas thinks he got his by eating p****, as he put it.
Interestingly some viruses are also being researched to fight cancer. Called 'oncolytic' (tumor destroying) viruses, they selectively infect cancer cells and destroy them.