title: Viruses in the aetiology of oral carcinoma? Examination of the evidence.
abstract: This paper examines the evidence for an aetiological role for viruses in the development of oral carcinoma. Several viruses have been sought in oral cancer and evidence found for some, particularly herpes simplex and human papillomavirus. However, the evidence also suggests that these viruses are ubiquitous agents and a number of criteria must be met before these potentially oncogenic agents can reliably be implicated in human carcinogenesis. In contrast, there is no evidence that viruses such as adenovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, and retroviruses play any role in oral carcinogenesis.
authors.affiliation: University Department of Oral Medicine, Surgery and Pathology, Bristol Dental Hospital and School.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Scully
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Maitland
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000382:microbiology*; D009858:Oncogenic Viruses / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections