Chapters authored
A Role for the Measles Virus in Oncology
An association between the measles virus (MV) and classic Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) was reported by our center in Beer-Sheva, starting in 2003. Our basic evidence on the relationship had been established by immunohistochemistry, using several commercial and specific experimental anti-measles antibodies in about 50% of our patients. It relied also on the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and in situ hybridization (ISH) of MV RNA, and overall, was essentially descriptive. The first and only response to our thesis was advanced in 2007 in doublet articles, in a single issue of a Cancer Journal. Our conclusions were hereby dismissed. Since reservations relating the above refutation seemed self-evident, the subsequent publication of several of our articles was launched. They disclosed evidence of an association of the MV with further categories of cancers, as well as its absence in some distinct tumors. A mechanism by which the MV may regulate apoptosis in the tumor cells of CHL was also proposed. A suspected role for the MV in oncomodulation is advocated. We deplore, however, the absence of further interest in our hypothesis among world experts.
Part of the book: Viruses and Viral Infections in Developing Countries