UK researchers have identified a link between a common childhood virus and bladder cancer later in life, suggesting early intervention could help prevent the disease.
The study, led by the University of York and published in Science Advances, focuses on the BK virus, which typically lies dormant in the kidneys after childhood infection. The virus often causes no noticeable symptoms, but insights have come from kidney transplant patients, whose immune-suppressing medications can allow the virus to reactivate, damaging the kidneys, ureters, and bladder.
In laboratory studies using human urinary tract tissue, researchers observed DNA damage caused by the body’s antiviral defenses following exposure to the BK virus. Enzymes meant to attack the virus can inadvertently harm the host cell’s own DNA, creating mutations that may later trigger cancer.
Dr. Simon Baker, part of the research team, explained, “In other virus-related cancers, such as cervical cancer, viral DNA integrates with our own to drive tumor development. In the bladder, our results show that tissue’s defensive response to the BK virus causes DNA changes that can lead to cancer.”
The team also found that DNA damage occurred not only in infected cells but in surrounding “bystander” cells observing nearby infection. Baker noted, “This may explain why most bladder cancers show no trace of the virus when diagnosed years later.”
Currently, bladder cancer prevention focuses on reducing risk factors such as smoking. The new findings point to a potential strategy for prevention through early detection and control of BK virus infection.
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