UF Health Researchers Find Anticancer Drugs Are Also Effective Against Epstein-Barr Virus-Related Cancers

The Epstein-Barr virus is a common, persistent and elusive invader. It typically spreads through saliva during childhood and often goes dormant after infection. The virus, also known as human herpesvirus 4, can cause mononucleosis and several cancers, including fast-growing tumors like Burkitt lymphoma, which is a form of neck and jaw cancer, and cancers in organ transplant recipients.

University of Florida Health researchers Sumita Bhaduri-McIntosh, M.D., Ph.D., and Michael McIntosh, Ph.D., and their collaborators have published new research showing a class of drugs used to treat a limited set of breast and ovarian cancers are also effective against cancers linked to the Epstein-Barr virus when tested on human cells. They also discovered a way to predict the susceptibility of other types of cancer to the anticancer drugs, potentially expanding their use. The findings were published in the PLOS Pathogens journal.

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