The Insurance Helpline
Totally Insured Group // 0800 377 7763

Scientists in the UK claim to have identified a dormant virus that triggers a new type of cancer increasingly found in youngsters.

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) - which is found in nine out of ten UK adults - significantly increases the chance of developing the disease if a ‘genetic accident’ of the immune system takes place.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have discovered a form of Burkitt’s lymphomas in which EBV triggers a viral protein that keeps the tumour cells alive.

Professor Alan Rickinson, lead author based at Cancer Research UK’s Institute for Cancer Studies at the university, said: "EBV is carried by most of us as a ‘dormant’ virus – but in a very small proportion of people it can have devastating effects. Precisely how EBV helps to cause Burkitt’s lymphoma has remained a mystery."

It was recently reported that a new screening method could reduce the number of women who die from ovarian cancer.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with cancer

This entry was posted on Friday, March 13th, 2009 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Cancer.