The viral theory of cancer

Science is an alive organism: the skeleton is made of actions; the muscles and the nerves are
the meanings attributed to the actions, but the ideas represent the entire soul of Science. It
seems that from just a simple idea,Francesc Duran Reynals around the 1900s,when he first
started one of his famous experiments,in which he tried to transplant a tumor, a sarcoma to a
healthy body-reached a crucial step in the research of Cancer causes.

First,he started his approach based on one of the two theories that were accepted at the
time,regarding the cause of neoplasic disorders:’’cancer needs to have a pathogenic
cause’’,emited by Louis Pasteur.

This ‘’pasteurian cause’’, Duran used to call: ‘’agent’’. He demonstrated how a filtrate prepared
with the sarcoma and free of any cellular matter would continue to cause lesions when injected
into other host animals. He stated that the cause would probably be ‘’an agent’’of unknown
cause,who could live in the filtrate and easily adapt in an other organism.

His colleague, Peythan Rous,who was at first really skeptical,always used to have contradictions
with Duran,because he could not accept the probability of a viral-infectious-agent.He tried to
experiment Duran’s theory just to show how wrong Duran was. But,unfortunately for his
colleague, Rous discovered that Duran was actually right, and even won a Nobel Prize for
Physiology.

Thus, the Nobel Prize was like a start-line in the research of viral causes of cancer,but yet
controversially discussed.New experiments were being made during the 1930-and
1960,researchers trying to show that a viral cause for cancer would have probably cause an
endemic period during history, a fact that,of course,was not real.
By trying to deny Duran’s Theory,like Rous previously tried,they find a connection between the
infection with the ‘’Sarcoma Kaposi’’ in pacients infected with HIV.

Therefore,this was the moment when Duran’s theory did not look so unreal.Then, the
experiments showed the connection between some infections and some forms of Hodgkins and
Non-Hodgkins limphomas, sarcoma,throat and hepatic cancer.

Moreover, Craige N., a well-known scientist,showed the surpring connection between the
Herpes-virus,Epstein-Barr ,the’’kissing disease’’and HPV with some forms of cancer.

Nowadays, the patway from which the cancer develops seems to be accepted by a large
number of scientists: the virus infects the host cell(mostly in imunodepresive-pacients),affects
the genetic material of the host cell,the cell alters its methabolism and starts to grow
uncontrollably.

The gene that was demonstrated to have been the cause of altering the cell’s methabolism is
known as ‘’K13’’. A high level of K13 in cells,permit the virus to replicate( let’s say: the Human
Herpes virus associated with Kaposi sarcoma) causing the death of the cells. These cell
fragments affect other healthy cells which cause the wrong transcription of two proteins which
are known to cause neoplasic disease.

Today, research concerning the viral causes of cancer are increasing nowadays. The era of
cancer-vaccination is not that far away because the first vaccine for HPV is on the market,HPV
being knows of one of the viral cause for some forms of cancers.

To conclude, there is no ‘’small idea’’ in Science. Even if at first-the idea seems to be strange-
with no evidence or simply stupid,its capability of being actually true is not supposed to be the
cause of leaving it aside.

Advance is being made every minute,descoveries are being revealed every day. Shall we stop
asking questions just because someone before us said it is unprobablly for a thing to happen?