The Role of Oncogenic Infectious Agents in Causing Liver, Stomach, Urinary Bladder, Head and Neck and Cervical Cancers

Background: Understanding the pathogenesis and predisposing factors for cancer is a major concern. Several studies have elucidated the role of infection in developing certain malignancies. Aim: The aim of this work was to assess the role of infectious agents in causing liver, stomach, urinary bladder, head and neck and cervical cancers. Methods: This case-control study included 181, diagnosis of several infectious agents included genetic and serological tests in both groups. The relative risk of each infectious agent was then calculated. Results: Oncogenic infectious agents cause 81.2% of studied cancers. HCV was detected in 92.2% of HCC with a relative risk of 4.6, HBV was detected in 5% of cases and relative risk of 4.8, H. pylori DNA was found in 77% of gastric cancer and a relative risk of 1.2 and S. heamatobium was found in 37.5% of urinary bladder cases with a relative risk of 31. Finally, HPV16 DNA was detected in 56.2% of head and neck cancer and 66.6% of cervical cancer with a relative risk of 3.12 and 3.7 respectively. Conclusion: Infections play an important role in the pathogenesis of cancer. Better attention to Infection prevention and control programs must be adapted to decrease the burden of malignant diseases.