ReviewInternational journal of cancer2015
Human endogenous retrovirus K and cancer: Innocent bystander or tumorigenic accomplice?
Review in International journal of cancer, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 89 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
89 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 133 citations in OpenAlex.
- Close to the Bedside: A Systematic Review of Endogenous Retroviruses and Their Impact in Oncology.The Journal of surgical research · 2019Pooled it
- Correspondence on: "Targeting the HERV-K102 envelope elicits pyroptosis and represents a novel therapeutic strategy for acute myeloid leukemia".Blood research · 2026Article
- Evolution ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Retroviruses and Cancer: Coevolution and Genetic Exchanges Between the Viral and the Host Genomes.Biology · 2026Article
- HERV-K HML-2 transcriptional profiling and splicing pattern unveiled by direct single-molecule long-read RNA sequencing.Mobile DNA · 2026Article
- Targeting the HERV-K102 envelope elicits pyroptosis and represents a novel therapeutic strategy for acute myeloid leukemia.Blood research · 2026Article
- Oncogenic role of ERV with therapeutic potential.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Characterization of HERV-K (HML-2) Rec proteins encoded in the human genome and their post-transcriptional function.Journal of virology · 2025Article
- The expression, regulation, and function of human endogenous retroviruses in genitourinary cancers.Cell death discovery · 2025Review
- The increased expression levels of human endogenous retrovirus-K envelope and human endogenous retrovirus-H polymerase transcripts in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.Virology journal · 2025Article
- Human endogenous retrovirus ERVK3-1 characterizes a metabolically active and immunosuppressive subtype of liver cancer.Virology journal · 2025Article
- Human endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K) envelope structures in pre- and postfusion by cryo-EM.Science advances · 2025Article
- Review
- Article
- Interactions between human immunodeficiency virus and human endogenous retroviruses.Journal of virology · 2025Review
- Phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate mediates Arc capsid secretion through the multivesicular body pathway.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Roles of Human Endogenous Retrovirus-K-Encoded Np9 in Human Diseases: A Small Protein with Big Functions.Viruses · 2024Review
- Correlation analysis of cancer stem cell marker CD133 and human endogenous retrovirus (HERV)-K env in SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells.Genes & genomics · 2024Article
- Article
- Review
29 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Harbored as relics of ancient germline infections, human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) now constitute up to 8% of our genome. A proportion of this sequence has been co-opted for molecular and cellular processes, beneficial to human physiology, such as the fusogenic activity of the envelope protein, a vital component of placentogenesis. However, the discovery of high levels of HERV-K mRNA and protein and even virions in a wide array of cancers has revealed that HERV-K may be playing a more sinister role-a role as an etiological agent in cancer itself. Whether the presence of this retroviral material is simply an epiphenomenon, or an actual causative factor, is a hotly debated topic. This review will summarize the current state of knowledge regarding HERV-K and cancer and attempt to outline the potential mechanisms by which HERV-K could be involved in the onset and promotion of carcinogenesis.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.